


Reyna's Party

by NEIWIS



Series: The Ultionem Saga [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:54:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 34,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22346764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEIWIS/pseuds/NEIWIS
Summary: The only thing Reyna wanted to do on her birthday was stay in bed and be alone. Instead, she is volunteered to take weapons to Camp Half-Blood. Unbeknownst to Reyna, her friends are back at Camp Jupiter trying to put a party together for her. When Reyna runs into an ambush, it doesn't take long for a day of celebration to turn into one of survival, as she must contend with someone who wants revenge on her sister and is going to kill Reyna to get it.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: The Ultionem Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764853
Kudos: 33





	1. Animis Opibusque Parati

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the beginning of the Ultionem Saga. This is a story that I started six years ago, and it evolved into five stories. I hope everyone enjoys.

Annabeth did not understand why preparing a birthday party was so hard. The seven had defeated Gaea for Zeus' sake. One little birthday party should not have been the obstacle that they could not overcome. Unfortunately, nine demigods with ADHD did not mix well with anything that required focus or patience.

“Hey Annabeth. How does this work?” Percy asked. He held a box of cake mix up to the light, as if it was an ancient artifact. He squinted as he tried to read the instructions. Annabeth sighed and walked towards Percy. She leaned on him and looked at the box.

Annabeth closed her eyes and was able to relax. Ever since their adventure in Tartarus, the two had been inseparable, and Annabeth wouldn't have it any other way. If they were alone, nightmares would plague them. Annabeth had taken to sneaking into Percy's cabin every night just to lay in his arms. She always managed to make it back inside her cabin before her siblings woke up, but they knew what she was doing. Thankfully, they understood her situation enough to realize she would not make it alone.

“What language is that?” Jason asked, sounding like he was right behind them. He dropped bags of decorations and supplies on the table. Annabeth gently pushed herself off of Percy and examined the bags. She pulled out some of the purple streamers and examined them closely.

“Are they good enough?” Jason asked. He pushed up his glasses and glanced around. Annabeth finally nodded and looked around the small apartment. It wouldn't be hard to decorate the place, since there was hardly anything in the house. Other than the bags of decorations and a single pan in the sink, the kitchen was bare.

Annabeth looked at the living room and tried to imagine where the decorations would go. There was a couch large enough for one person to lay on in the middle of the living room, and it faced a bare wall, like the owner sat there and contemplated life. A small coffee table was near the couch. It seemed like most of the demigods would be sitting on the floor or just packed together like sardines on the couch.

“Jason, can you get Piper, Hazel, and Frank to start on the decorations? Nico should almost be done getting the plates and silverware. I will help Percy make the cake. Leo is getting all of the food ready, and he will need the decorators to help him carry the food in,” Annabeth said. She took a deep breath as she finished.

Jason blinked for a few moments, and he slowly nodded. He hurried out, and out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw someone else walk in. She quickly turned and was ready to shove the person out. Annabeth relaxed as she saw Hylla. The queen of the Amazons grinned and sat on the kitchen counter.

“Where is my sister at?” Hylla asked. She glanced at the decorations. Hylla was the one who had gotten all of them together and asked if they would be able to help her throw a birthday party for Reyna. Everyone was more than happy to help.

“Hopefully, she is still delivering the weapons to Camp Half-Blood,” Annabeth said. Hylla nodded, but her eyes widened. She threw herself off of the counter and hid behind Annabeth. After a moment, Annabeth turned around and studied the Iris message in front of her.

At first, the Iris message showed a view of the cabins in Camp Half-Blood. It looked like it was being sent from the porch of the Big House. Chiron stepped into view and smiled. There was a look of amusement on his face, but if he thought anything of Hylla's actions, he didn't say a word. Hylla grumbled something to herself and stood, brushing herself off.

“Chiron,” Annabeth greeted. They all knew how much Hylla wanted to surprise her sister. If Reyna had been the one who sent the message, she would have seen Hylla instantly. She would probably also be wondering why they were in her house. “How are the weapons?”

“They are perfect,” Chiron answered. He lifted one of the newly delivered bows. “Although, the praetor did seem quite stressed out.”

“She's been working hard, like always,” Hylla said, and she crossed her arms. “A little too hard from what I heard.”

Annabeth nodded her agreement. It was true that Reyna and Frank had been practically breaking their backs the last few months. They were trying to restore the legion back to what it had been before the war with Gaea. Those who Octavian reinstated were given the chance to earn the right to stay. Some of them were deemed unworthy and told to leave.

Some left peacefully. Others banded together and tried to overthrow Reyna and Frank. The rebellion lasted only a few hours, and the rebels were put down. After that, Reyna had thrown herself into making sure that both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood were better than they were before.

“She's been training everyday too. I'm surprised she has any free time,” Percy commented. Hylla made a small noise in the back of her throat, and it almost sounded like a growl. Chiron looked behind him and towards a gathering crowd.

“I must make sure that the Ares and Aphrodite cabin stay away from each other. I wish you all the best of luck with the party,” Chiron said. The three demigods nodded. Chiron waved his hand through the Iris message, cutting the connection.

Annabeth sighed and looked down. For some reason, Ares and Aphrodite were having another argument, but she had no clue what it was about. She just knew that it was causing tension between the two cabins, and Annabeth was already annoyed by it.

Percy glanced at Hylla. He pulled out the eggs and milk they would need for the cake. Hylla watched the two of them before taking a quick tour of the apartment. Annabeth helped Percy set out the supplies and found herself lost in thought.

Planning the party had been a venture of its own. She made sure that there was no war games or any other important events happening during the week. It took a few threats and convincing to the centurions of Camp Jupiter to get all of them on board. And, it was really hard to threaten the centurions behind Reyna's back, as the praetor seemed to be everywhere that Annabeth was. Then, there was the biggest obstacle in Reyna.

Annabeth casually mentioned the day before that Reyna should take the weapons to Camp Half-Blood, instead of the normal delivery driver. Reyna muttered something about needing to stay at her camp and watch over her campers. When Frank backed up Annabeth and mentioned that Reyna looked like she could use the break, Reyna looked like she was going to skewer them with the javelin that she had been practicing with. After a little more convincing, she finally relented.

Reyna's original plan had been to take a Pegasus towards the weapon depot that was only a few hours drive from Camp Half-Blood. She would then use the Pegasus to take a chariot full of weapons to the camp. Percy had a little talk with Guido, and the Pegasus just happened to fly away as Reyna was checking over the weapons. Guido would be waiting at the weapons depot when Reyna got back though.

“What else needs to happen?” Hylla questioned. Before Annabeth could answer, the door opened, and Nico walked in. Nico gave them a nod and started to place plates and a bag of silverware on the table. He held a present in his hands.

“Since Nico is done, we just need to finish the cake, get the food, and finish decorations,” Annabeth said, as she ran through her mental checklist. Why did it feel like she was forgetting something?

“Anything I can do?” Hylla asked. She sat on the arm of the couch and looked around, as if imagining the room decorated. They heard a small crash from the kitchen.

“Help with the cake? I can't find a mixing bowl,” Percy said. Nico walked towards the kitchen and opened a cabinet. He pulled out the mixing bow and tossed it to Percy.

“Do we have a place for the gifts?” Nico asked. Annabeth's eyes widened.

“That's what I forgot,” Annabeth said. Nico shot her a look that asked if she was serious. “I was so focused on planning for the party that I didn't even think about a gift, and I can't just have the party itself be a gift.”

“You have time,” Nico reassured. He grabbed his gift, which looked suspiciously like a sword now that Annabeth was getting a good look at it. Nico walked towards the small table in the living room and set the gift on it.

“What does Reyna even like, besides weapons?” Percy asked. He stared at the cake box for a few moments and looked perplexed.

“I wouldn't suggest a guinea pig,” Hylla muttered dryly. After a moment, she looked at Annabeth and winked. From the kitchen, Percy almost looked a little concerned.

“Just get her what you think she would like. It's the thought that counts. Well, that is what Will told me,” Nico said. He seemed much happier ever since he started to date Will Solace. The two were inseparable six days of the week. The seventh day was usually spent hanging out with Reyna.

“Well, I think that Reyna would like a javelin or a spear,” Percy said. He nodded to himself. “I'm sure she has plenty of spears, so I think a javelin will be it. Does New Rome have any for sale?

“Oh seaweed brain,” Annabeth said. She walked towards him and kissed his cheek. Percy eye's suddenly lit up.

“I know exactly what to get!” Percy exclaimed. He ran towards the door and opened it. “I'll be back soon. Promise!”

Annabeth sighed and walked towards the cake. She looked at the progress, or the lack of, that Percy had made with the cake. Hylla appeared at her side and spoke, “I've said it once before Annabeth, and I will say it again. I just need a size, and I can get a nice, orange jumpsuit for him. The collar is one fits all. I just need you to say the word.”


	2. The Most Dangerous Game

Even before the van broke down, Reyna was having a bad day. Given her luck that week, she should have suspected something like this would happen. Reyna could only watch as the van came to a stop, with some smoke coming out of the engine. She allowed her anger to take over for a few moments, and she banged her fist against the steering wheel. This week was becoming worse by the second.

It started with the lack of sleep. While it was true that she did not always sleep peacefully, she had found a way to control her dreams. This week, for some reason, proved to be the exception. Anytime she tried to control her dreams, she woke with a racing heart and shallow breath. The only was to sleep was to endure the nightmares, which left her in a foul mood in the morning.

“It's always this month. Every year,” Reyna muttered. She heard Aurum and Argentum rise as they sensed her discomfort. Reyna opened the van door and stepped outside. She took a moment to look at her surroundings.

The road she stood on was nothing more than a long strip of asphalt that had been carved through a forest. Camp Half-Blood was only a few miles away, and it would be a good idea to get moving. Forest surrounded her on all sides, and there was no telling who or what waited inside. Her two dogs jumped out of the van and waited by her side.

Turning back towards the van, Reyna sighed deeply and tried to think of a plan. She could walk back to Camp Half-Blood, but clouds were gathering overhead. She enjoyed the rain, but it would obscure visibility on the road. She also didn't want to get soaked by it. It was possible she could fix the van, but that would take time.

Aurum barked loudly, and Argentum growled. Reyna realized her decision was made for her, and she turned around. She barely manged to dive out of the way as a boulder smashed into the van, right where she had been standing. The boulder knocked the van back by a few feet also causing it to turn on its side.

Reyna scrambled to her feet and grabbed the dagger on her belt. Her javelin and shield were still in the van. Four Laistrygonian giants stepped out of the treeline. Two held, large clubs that looked like they would break a few bones upon impact. The third held a boulder in its heavily tattooed arms. A fourth one stood further back.

The fourth one immediately became a target. There was an intelligence in his eyes that the others didn't have. He held no weapon, but Reyna assumed he was the one who threw the boulder.

“Praetor,” The fourth Laistrygonian giant growled. Reyna gripped her dagger. She would have to get close to the giants to do any real damage, or she needed to get her javelin from the van. The two Laistrygonians with clubs charged her.

Time slowed down, and Reyna was left with no choice. She rushed forward to meet the giants. Reyna rolled under the swing of one, turning as she stood. She jumped back to avoid another club. Aurum and Argentum jumped the first giant, who Reyna dubbed Ugly One.

Ugly Two, who was about to bash her brains in while she was distracted, found Reyna was no longer there. She slipped around him and stabbed her dagger into his back. She grabbed his arm and pulled herself up using the dagger. She gripped Ugly Two's shoulder and pulled out the dagger before stabbing the Laistrygonian in the neck.

Ugly Two disintegrated, and Reyna jumped from him throwing her dagger at Ugly One. Ugly One managed to throw Aurum from his arm before the dagger sunk into his chest and caused him to explode into dust. Reyna glanced at Aurum concerned before forcing herself to focus.

"Argentum, protect me!" Reyna yelled, and she turned her back to the fight. She ran towards the overturned van and jumped, grabbing the edge. Reyna pulled herself up onto the van and stuck her arm inside the window. Her javelin was lying against the seat, just out of her reach.

"Not now," Reyna hissed glancing back. The Laistrygonian with the boulder seemed to sneer at her before throwing the boulder at Argentum. Reyna stared as the boulder slammed into the leaping hound. Reyna saw red as her dog hit the ground and didn't move.

Reyna gripped the broken window and dropped into the van. She scooped her shield up and slung it across her back. After grabbing her javelin, the daughter of Bellona pulled herself out of the van. Reyna, who was in a crouched position, barely had enough time to stand before a boulder slammed into her. She hit the ground hard. and her head cracked against it.

“Bring me the praetor,” the leader of the Laistrygonians commanded. Reyna blinked rapidly as dark spots danced in her vision. She slowly turned on her side and grabbed her javelin, trying to get her bearings. There was the heavy thud of footsteps, and it was quickly getting closer. Reyna gripped her javelin and glanced up. The Laistrygonian that had thrown the boulder stood over her, and he reached down.

Reyna rolled away and jumped to her feet. She stumbled backwards and tried it ignore the feeling of the world spinning. It took a few moments to grab her shield and grip it. Heavy footsteps told her that the intelligent once, probably the leader, was behind her. Reyna turned and brought her shield up as a club was slammed into it. Reyna stumbled backwards as the shield took the full force of the blow.

Taking a moment to examine her surroundings made her guest twist. Her head pounded, and she was surrounded by the giants. She couldn't just rush into the fight wildly. She needed to think through her next step

“Give in, praetor,” the leader ordered. He lifted the club that he had taken from one of his dead allies. Reyna stared at the iron tip of it.

“Who sent you?” Reyna questioned, glancing behind her. The boulder throwing Laistrygonian had backed off. Reyna frowned and focused back on the leader of the giants, which was her big mistake. The leader swung his club, and Reyna quickly raised the crumpled shield to protect her head. Pain exploded in her knee a moment later.

Reyna yelled in pain and collapsed to the ground. The leader of the Laistrygonians raised his club once against and went to bring it down directly onto her chest. Reyna grabbed her shield and used it to block the blow. The shield bent even more, and pain shot through her arms.

“Gaea had specific instructions for the seven before she was forced back to sleep, but she had a special punishment planned for you,” the Laistrygonian sneered. Reyna's hand drifted towards her javelin, and the Laistrygonian leader raised his club for a third time. Reyna grabbed her javelin and threw it at him with all of her might.

The javelin tore though the neck of the Laistrygonian. He exploded into dust and dropped his club. Reyna brought her cloak over herself, and the club bounced harmlessly off of it. There was a loud bark, and Aurum slammed int the final Laistrygonian.

Reyna scooted towards her javelin and gripped it. Aurum yelped and was thrown near her. The final Laistrygonian lumbered towards her and went to grab the iron club. It proved to be the final thing that he would do as Reyna threw her javelin at him.

Aurum slowly moved to her side. He nudged her arm and whimpered softly. Reyna laid back against the ground and gently rubbed Aurum's head. She felt Argentum nudge her other arm. Both sat by her protectively.

“Well, that was fun,” Reyna muttered. She laid there for a minute and finally forced herself to sit up. Reyna scooted towards her fallen javelin. She wiped the monster dust off and slowly examined her knee. It was tender to the touch, and her kneecap looked like it had been knocked out of place. Walking would not be fun, if it was even an option.

Reyna scooted towards the van and let out a tired breath. She placed the blunt end of her javelin to the ground and used it to slowly stand. Reyna groaned in pain and leaned against the van. All she needed to do was walk back to Camp Half-Blood. Her dogs moved next to her and stared up at her expectantly.

“Praetor!” a woman's voice called. Reyna's eye flickered up. She could see two women walking towards her. They both wore jumpsuits that looked familiar, and both had swords at their sides.

“Who are you?” Reyna asked. She slowly raised her javelin in a defensive position. There wasn't much she could do, as the van was pretty much the only thing keeping her standing. Reyna noticed a figure standing in the treeline, and they were holding a bow.

“I'm Lulu,” the younger of the two women answered. She nudged the woman next to her, who was scanning the perimeter. Lulu smiled at Reyna. “My friend here is Doris.”

Reyna felt the throbbing in her head come back, and she closed her eyes for a few moments. It was possible she had a concussion from her fall off of the van. Reyna slowly opened her eyes and studied the jumpsuits once more. She spoke, “Amazons?”

“Yes. Are you Praetor Reyna?” Hylla's sister?” Lulu asked. She clearly knew the answer, but it looked like she was waiting for confirmation. After a moment, Reyna nodded once. Doris' hand casually drifted to her belt, and the movement was not missed by Reyna.

“Did Hylla send you?” Reyna questioned. Her two dogs were pressed against her legs Reyna gripped her javelin.

“Of course,” Lulu answered. Argentum growled, and Reyna immediately tensed. Lulu was lying, but Reyna's two dogs knew better than to attack if she was at a disadvantage. Lulu glanced at the two dogs. “Well, Hylla didn't exactly send us.”

“Who sent you then?” Reyna demanded, forcing her voice to stay strong. Her instincts told her to run, her warrior blood demanded she fight, and her body asked how she was suppose to do any of those things.

"The true queen of the Amazons: Otrera," Lulu answered. She unsheathed her sword as did Doris. Reyna bit back a curse and pushed herself off of the van. Something told her this wasn't going to end well.

“Hylla may have been lucky enough to kill Otrera twice in a row, but she is not a true queen. A true queen would have destroyed your pathetic camp,” Doris sneered.

“Hylla formed a beneficial alliance between the Romans and the Amazons. We may have fought each other in the past but so did the Greeks and Romans. Can you not see past Otrera and her outdated ways to understand we are on a better path?” Reyna questioned. She wanted to deescalate the situation, but she still gripped her javelin.

“The only thing I can look past is my desire to kill you now. I realize that it would be better for your sister to witness your execution,” Doris spat. Reyna glared and realized that diplomacy was out of the window.

“Otrera is dead and so are her ideals. Back off, or you will join her,” Reyna growled. Doris and Lulu glanced at each other, and for a moment, Reyna thought they would actually listen to the threat. Instead, they both nodded, as if coming to an agreement.

“I am sure that your sister will miss you, praetor,” Lulu said, and she pointed her sword towards Reyna. “Be grateful. Your death will be nowhere near as painful as your sister's.”


	3. Nihil Sub Sole Novi

“You bought those?” Annabeth asked, and she rubbed her temples. Jason glanced at Piper and seemed to be asking what he had done wrong. Piper quietly picked up the champagne popper and examined it. Jason frowned.

“What is wrong with those? The guy at the store told me they are great for parties,” Jason said. He was still frowning and almost looked a little hurt. Annabeth gave Piper a look, and Piper's eyes widened in understanding. Jason still looked confused.

“Jason,” Piper said gently. “Reyna is going to walk into her house with the lights turned off. It will be pitch black. Percy is going to turn on the lights, and we are going to yell surprise. Do you see where this is going?”

“Reyna will probably be so startled that she throws a dagger at one of us?” Jason asked. Piper nodded. “And, the champagne poppers will only surprise her more because they are loud, so her dogs might attack us as well.”

“Nobody really like a dagger flying at their head,” Hylla commented. She walked towards them holding onto a few bowls. “Which is why I will be standing by the front door. Reyna can't murder anyone if she is stuck in a hug.”

Annabeth nodded slightly and ran through her mental checklist. Everything was starting to come together, and it seemed like they were actually going to pull this party off. Annabeth spoke, “Leo should be finished with grocery shopping soon.”

“I'll meet up with him outside of camp and help him bring the groceries here,” Jason said. Annabeth nodded. The Romans were still a little jumpy around Festus, since the dragon's head had been on the ship that fired upon them in the first meeting between the Greeks and Romans.

“Hazel and Frank should be here soon,” Piper added. She sat down and slowly looked around. “Frank had some praetor duties to handle. I think it had something to do with the next war games.”

Annabeth nodded and heard a quick knock. Percy opened the door and stepped inside smiling. He held up a small, blue box. Percy spoke, “Did anyone bring wrapping paper?”

“I brought some,” Nico said from behind Percy. The son of Poseidon jumped and turned around. Nico smirked and closed the door. He held out purple wrapping paper, and Percy nodded a thanks.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Jason giving them a small wave. He kissed Piper's cheek and walked out. Piper stood and helped them lay out the rest of the supplies. Percy started to wrap the gift that he had brought.

“So, how are the Amazons?” Piper asked. Hylla glanced at her, and a small smile came to her face. There wasn't a happy look in her eyes though. Annabeth moved closer to them, unable to hide her curiosity.

“We're doing pretty well,” Hylla responded. A small frown came to her face. “Our only problem is a few Amazons who thought Otrera would have been a better ruler than me. They were going to rebel but soon realized they were outnumbered. They fled, and I haven't wasted the time or resources trying to hunt them down.”

“Are you worried they might try to do something?” Piper asked. Hylla smirked and seemed to bite back a laugh.

“No,” Hylla replied. She shook her head. “I don't have anything to worry about from five Amazons.”

“They would be idiots to try,” Nico commented. Hylla smiled, as if she liked the answer. She picked up a party hat, and her smile widened.

“There is no way you're going to be able to convince Reyna to wear that,” Percy said. He sat the present on the table.

“Percy, has your mother ever told your friends embarrassing stories about you as a baby?" Hylla asked. Annabeth laughed as she remembered Sally doing exactly that. Percy blushed and cleared his throat.

“Oh, Percy's mother, Sally, told Thalia and I eveyr embarrassing story that she could about Percy. I am more than happy to share them,” Annabeth said. Percy slowly looked at her and stared at her. She laughed a moment later.

“Since I took care of Reyna when she was a baby, I have plenty of embarrassing stories I can share, if she tries to fight us,” Hylla said.

“We should probably hear some now,” Piper said, and there was a grin on her face. Annabeth smiled as well, but they really needed to focus.

“We should finalize our plan first,” Annabeth interrupted. Percy gave her a look and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close.

“Stop trying to change the plan every two minutes. It is simple,” Percy said. "Hylla, Nico, Piper, and I will be decorating the apartment. Then, we can decide who will decorate the cake."

“I guess I will,” Annabeth began. Everyone quickly nodded their agreement. Percy smiled and kissed her.

"Leo and Jason can handle getting the food. Frank and Hazel should arrive before the food. They can help us carry everything in and put up anymore decorations," Percy reassured. Annabeth smiled looking at him. They both knew how much she wanted to make this party perfect.

"What is a piragua?" Piper asked Hylla glancing at the list Annabeth had made. The list consisted of the food that was going to be served, which was only a few items.

"It is shaved ice that is shaped like a pyramid. Then, you put a fruit syrup over it," Hylla replied. She sat on the table.

"So it is basically a snow cone?" Percy asked. Hylla glared at him. Percy looked away quickly and gave Annabeth a look. She rolled her eyes and glanced over at Hylla. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nico point. Annabeth turned around and looked at the Iris message in front of her.

“So,” Leo began. He was leaning back and had a grin on his face. It was the same grin he had when he appeared right in the middle of Camp Half-Blood, after everyone thought he was dead. The grin meant trouble. Annabeth sighed and tried to ready herself for whatever Leo was going to say.

“What happened?” Percy asked. He seemed to recognize that grin as well.

“It might have rained pizza over California,” Leo said. Annabeth gave him a glare that would have made Cerberus whimper. Leo looked away. "I'm really not sure what happened. They were strapped down, and I turned away to give Festus instructions. When I looked back, the pizza was gone.”

“How do you lose pizza?” Annabeth demanded. She could hear snickers behind her but ignored them.

“There should be food in New Rome,” Piper reassured, and she placed a hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

“I'll go with,” Hylla volunteered. Annabeth nodded and gave Leo a look. He winced but tried to keep the grin on his face. Annabeth ended the Iris message and slowly rubbed her temples.

“I'll stay here and make sure that the boys don't mess anything up. Well, I'll make sure Percy doesn't,” Piper said.

“Hey,” Percy complained. Annabeth smiled and kissed his cheek. She walked towards Hylla's side. After a few moments, Hylla stood from the table. They both walked out, but they didn't even make it twenty feet before Hylla tensed.

“Something wrong?” Annabeth asked. She quickly looked around, thinking Reyna had somehow already made it back. Instead, Hylla found a wall and leaned on it. “Hylla, are you okay?”

“I'm fine, but something might be wrong,” Hylla answered. She shook her head. “There are times I get this feeling, and it only happens when Reyna is in danger. Our mother gave Reyna two dogs, but she gave a radar that lets me know when Reyna has gotten herself into more trouble.

“Is she in danger?” Annabeth asked quickly. Despite the bitter tone, Hylla seemed concerned.

“I don't think so. I've been getting a couple of false alarms lately, and this might be another one,” Hylla answered. She finally looked down and shook her head. “What is the point of being able to tell if Reyna is in danger if it isn't always right?”

“Hylla, do you think Reyna is in danger?” Annabeth asked. Hylla looked at the ground for a long moment and finally shook her head. “Are you sure?”

“It's probably nothing,” Hylla said, but she didn't sound confident. Hylla pushed herself off of the wall. “Come on. Let's go get some food.”


	4. Orbis Non Sufficit

Reyna wished she could say that she fought off the rogue Amazons. She wished that she could say Aurum and Argentum attacked Doris while Reyna incapacitated Lulu. Reality was not so kind. It all started with Reyna deciding to take the offensive and attack first. She tried to sweep Lulu's legs out from under her with her javelin.

Aurum had jumped at Doris, who stepped to the side. Before Argentum could attack, an arrow hit him in the side, and he yelped. Reyna turned her attention to him, and another arrow flew by her face. Reyna's eyes snapped to the figure in the tree line, before her instincts screamed for her to jump back. Reyna did so without hesitation, and the tip of Lulu's sword cut into her neck.

The cut was not terribly deep, but it did cause Reyna to tense. She mentally chided herself for getting distracted once again. The two dogs could take a beating, but she worried to lose one of them after what happened to Scipio. The two dogs had been her best friends for years.

Reyna blocked another attack from Lulu. She could see that Aurum was prowling around Doris, looking for an opening. Reyna forced herself to focus back on Lulu, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the archer adjusting to aim at her. Reyna pushed Lulu back with her javelin and tried to move away from the arrow.

Lulu kicked Reyna in her knee, and Reyna felt her knee buckle. Lulu shoved her back into the van, and Reyna's head bounced hard off of it. She groaned and slowly slid down the van. Her head ached more than before. Aurum moved to Reyna's side and growled.

“Don't,” Reyna whispered. She placed a hand to the back of her head. Reyna could see that she had lost this battle, and it would be best to keep her dogs from harm. Hopefully, they could get her help. “Take Argentum and leave.”

“Cute,” Doris spat. She kicked Reyna's weapon away and stepped forward.

“Leave them alone,” Reyna said. She slowly stood, using the van for support. Both Amazons moved closer to her. “They won't hurt you.”

“Shut up praetor,” Lulu commanded. She shoved her sword into Reyna's face. Their eyes met, and Lulu placed the sword to Reyna's throat. Reyna watched Aurum disappear with Argentum. She moved her gaze to the sword and remained unflinching.

“It looks like our little praetor fears nothing,” the archer commented, and she walked towards them. There was a smirk on her face. Lulu nodded and lowered her sword.

Reyna watched the three of them and tried to think of a plan. She glanced at the archer, who had turned to face Doris. The archer and Doris were only two feet apart, and Lulu was three feet from them. Lulu's focus was on her friends though.

Reyna made her move. She used her gauntlet to push Lulu's sword completely away from her. Then, Reyna shoved Doris into the archer, and the two tumbled to the ground. Reyna punched Lulu in the face and dove for her javelin.

It took a moment for Reyna to ignore the crippling pain in her leg and stand. She turned and started to raise her javelin. The archer had her bow half raised and was about to bring an arrow back. Reyna threw her javelin. It tore through the bow and straight into the archer's chest.

Someone slammed into Reyna from the side. Lulu pinned Reyna and placed a sword to her throat. After a moment, she moved it to Reyna's face, hovering dangerously near her eye. Reyna stared up at the sword and tried to keep her calm.

“Just in case you do escape,” Lulu whispered. She placed the tip of her sword to Reyna's eyebrow and cut deeply into the area. A smirk came to her face. “There is a nice scar to remember me by.”

Reyna glared at Lula, but her eyes slowly moved to the side. Lulu seemed totally focused on her, and Doris wasn't even looking at the archer. Reyna wasn't sure if the archer could have been saved, but the two Amazons weren't even trying. It was like they didn't care for each other.

“Your friend is bleeding to death,” Reyna noted. Lulu glared, as if that wasn't the response she wanted. She stood but kept her sword pressed to Reyna's throat. Doris grabbed Reyna's hands roughly and tied her wrist together with rope. Doris pulled Reyna to her feet and shoved her forward.

Reyna collapsed to her knees and barely kept herself from collapsing onto her face. Doris grabbed her roughly and pulled her back to her feet. She spoke, “Walk.”

Reyna remained silent and slowly started to walk. A glance at the archer showed she was pale and bleeding profusely. She was hardly breathing, but she was alive. Reyna's weapon was also still buried in her chest.

“You're going to leave a comrade for dead?” Reyna asked. She stopped walking and tried to stall. Reyna could feel the blood trickling down her eye. Her head ached, and she needed to think of a plan.

“I told you to walk,” Doris snapped. Reyna turned towards Doris and was punched hard in the face. Reyna stumbled backwards, and the hilt of Doris' sword slammed into the wound above her eye. Reyna fell backwards.

“We need her alive, for now,” Lulu said. Doris growled and sheathed sword. Reyna slowly turned on her side and moved her hands to her face. She couldn't afford many more blows to the head.

“I want you to listen closely,” Doris said. She knelt next to Reyna and grabbed her face tightly. “I am going to pull you to your feet. You will walk ahead of me and will not try to do anything else. If you do, I swear on the River Styx that I will beat you within an inch of your life. Then, I will send an Iris message to your sister and force her to watch as I execute you as painfully as possible.”

Reyna nodded once and remained silent. Doris pulled her up and shoved her forward again. Reyna stumbled, and her knee gave out once again. She fell to her knees but slowly managed to make it to her feet. She hobbled forward.

Doris gave her clear instructions on where to go, and Reyna didn't put up a fight. Reyna could just feel that Doris was smiling, probably thinking that she had scared Reyna into submission. The truth was that the praetor was lost in thought.

The Amazons weren't going to kill her, yet. She had time to make a plan. The biggest problem was her injuries. Pain shot through her knee with every step. Blood was trickling into her eye, no matter how much she tried to wipe it away. Her head ached, and she wasn't in fighting shape.

As they walked further and further into the forest, Reyna kept her gaze ahead. She tried to keep her mind clear and think of a plan. Lulu kept glancing over at her, and Doris was right behind Reyna. No plans came to Reyna's mind, and she could feel panic starting to build.

It took at least ten minutes for them to step into a clearing. Reyna stopped and looked at the campfire in the middle of the clearing. Both of them had black jackets over their jumpsuits. One of them was young, probably only about ten. The other was eighteen, and she was cleaning a knife. She had dark brown hair and cruel, brown eyes. The girl looked up at them and instantly stood.

“Where is Kallie?” the girl asked, and she walked towards them. Reyna glanced back at the two. Her math told her that Kallie was the one currently laying by the van, and she was very much dead by now.

“I'm so sorry, Vera. The praetor attacked us before we had a chance to react,” Doris said. The girl, Vera, slowly walked towards Reyna. It took Reyna a moment to brace herself. Vera studied her with a look of anger and sadness.

“Did you kill my sister?” Vera asked, and she tensed.

“I did, but your friends could have saved her,” Reyna said. Vera stared at her, and it didn't seem like she was able to process the words. Her eyes were glazed over, like she was in her own world. Vera suddenly tackled Reyna to the ground.

Vera used her knee to pin Reyna's tied wrists to her stomach. She punched Reyna hard in the face. Reyna's head snapped to the side, and she tried to wiggle her hands free. Vera punched her once again, and a third punch caused Reyna to see stars.

Vera stood and stepped away. Reyna slowly turned on her side and groaned in pain. She placed both hands to her face and stared ahead. The fourth, younger girl was standing by Lulu and Doris.

“The praetor killed Kallie?” the fourth girl asked. She almost sounded doubtful. Reyna moved her hands to her bloody nose and studied the three other Amazons.

“She did, Candice,” Lulu said gently. She placed a hand to Candice's shoulder and moved some of her blonde hair out of her face. Even from ten feet away, Reyna could see that Candice had kind, brown eyes. Why was she with these Amazons?

“I liked Kallie,” Candice mumbled. She stared to turn towards them, but Lulu stopped her. Reyna felt Vera reach underneath her armor and grab her shirt. She pulled Reyna into a half sitting position. Then, she slammed her fist right into Reyna's face.

Reyna did her best to cover her head, and Vera shoved her back down. Reyna didn't lower her arms. Lulu said something that caused Candice to jog away from the clearing. Doris spoke,” Cute kid.”

“Only ten,” Lulu sighed. Reyna stared at them. Why would they bring a ten year old into this? Was it suppose to be some kind of cruel protection? If Hylla tried to hunt them, would they threaten to kill the girl?

“Are you regretting leaving?” Doris asked. She took a step towards Lulu. Reyna watched the two of them. It seemed like Doris was the leader. Two hands grabbed onto Reyna's arms.

Reyna looked up at Vera and tried to speak. Another fist slammed into her face. Reyna's head snapped to the side, and she was defenseless as Vera delivered three more brutal punches.

Reyna lost consciousness between the second and third punch. When she came to, Vera was pacing back and forth by her. Reyna lifted her head and saw Doris shove Lulu away from the clearing. Vera walked towards Doris.

“I want the praetor to suffer,” Vera said, and she wiped her bloody hands on her jacket. Reyna turned on her side and spat out blood. She pressed her bloody face into the grass and groaned softly.

“She will,” Doris promised, but she crossed her arms. “You need to watch the violence around Candice. I can keep her from seeing violence, but it's hard to disguise the sound of someone's face being punched in.”

“Yes ma'am,” Vera muttered. She walked out of the clearing as well. Reyna turned onto her back and tried to think. She blinked a few times and placed a hand to her face. Blood was pouring from her nose and trickling from her mouth. There was a few cuts on her face from Vera's rings. Reyna curled up on her side again.

Doris took a deep breath and walked towards Reyna. She stepped on Reyna's head and forced her face into the grass. Doris spoke, “I plan on toppling your sister just like this. These girls think that I want Otrera to rule, and I did, until she failed us. They think that we can overthrow your sister and find a willing champion to step up and lead. Do you want to know the truth?”

Doris knelt by Reyna and forced her knee in the back of Reyna's head. Reyna cried out as fresh pain ran through her head. She was alone with Doris, but she was in no shape to make an escape. Doris continued in a whisper,” I want to take the power all for myself. Killing you will emotionally destroy your sister, and I think she might even lose the will to live. What else does she have to live for? Her girlfriend was killed in the war with Orion, and you're all she has left.”

“After killing off Vera and Lulu, I will challenge your sister to a fight. Candice will be my follower, and she will help spin the story in my favor,” Doris continued. She leaned in closer, putting more pressure on Reyna's head. Reyna bit back her cry. “Did you know that some of the Amazons actually like you? If they knew I killed you, they would turn on me in an instant.”

“Hylla would kill you before you could challenge her,” Reyna groaned. She scratched at Doris' knee to try and get her to move. She needed to relieve the pressure.

“Quit fighting,” Doris snapped. She laughed. “What I am going to do is simple. Vera is so mad that you killed her sister, and she is going to kill you the first chance that she gets. I will take Candice away, and when we come back, Vera will have already executed you. I would just be a moment too late. I'll handle Vera and Lulu, and Candice will give your sister a story about how we were two loyal Amazons trying to stop the crazy plans of traitors.”

“Hylla won't believe you,” Reyna groaned. She spat blood out and groaned once again. Pain made it hard to think, and part of her was starting to think that she didn't have a way out of this. Reyna took a deep breath. She could not fall into despair and hopelessness. There was always a chance, as long as she had breath.

“It is a long shot, but I am willing to bet she will listen to me as I carry your body to her. Then, I will challenge her in front of every Amazon there,” Doris said. She looked like she was going to continue, but Candice jogged back into the clearing. Doris stood.

Reyna placed both hands to her face and tried to wipe the blood from her face. Candice jogged over to Doris and spoke, “I was looking through those supply crates like you told me to, and I found these cell phones. I even have a signal.”

“I believe Iris was working on them,” Doris said. Her tone was much sweeter than before. Reyna had both hands to her face, but she watched them through her fingers. “It failed though. If a demigod uses the phones, it will still alert monsters. It does have a signal anywhere Iris can go though.”

Candice nodded but looked disappointed. Doris ruffled her hair. Reyna looked at the phone, and a fuzzy idea started to form. Candice slipped the phone into her pocket. Doris spoke, “Stay here with the prisoner but don't get too close. If she does anything, yell.”

Candice nodded and slowly walked towards Reyna. She sat near her and studied her. Reyna laid her head back and groaned in pain. There was no way she could hurt Candice. The girl was innocent in all of this. As Doris left the clearing, Candice suddenly spoke, “Did you really kill Kallie?”

“It was an accident,” Reyna replied. She slowly rolled onto her back and placed both hands back to her face. Candice walked towards her and knelt by her.

“They called you a praetor. What is that?” Candice asked. Reyna blinked a few times and studied the girl.

“It's one of the two leaders of New Rome,” Reyna replied. She winced as Candice slowly wiped the blood from her face.

“What do they want with you?” Candice asked. Reyna studied the young girl quietly. Her eyes moved around the clearing, but exhaustion was starting to take her. She clenched her fists and tried to focus.

“I'm not sure,” Reyna lied. She made it to a half sitting position. Her gaze moved towards Candice. “Do you really have a cell phone that gets a signal anywhere?”

As Candice grabbed the phone, there was pure excitement on her face. It broke Reyna's heart. The girl was clearly too young to be a willing participant in this, so her true role had to be as a shield or even bargaining chip. Why in Bellona's name had Hylla even allowed a ten year old into the Amazons?

“Could I test it?” Reyna asked. A frown slowly came to Candice's face, and Reyna felt bad about tricking the girl. She had no other options though. She had to get distance from the rogue Amazons. “I can do it in front of you, so you can see that I am only testing it out. No harm will come from it.”

After a few moments, Candice nodded and handed the phone to Reyna. The praetor slowly grabbed it and examined it. Reyna opened the flip phone and dialed the only number she knew. Candice leaned against her to watch, as if she didn't believe the phone worked as well. Reyna's heart raced as she heard a dial tone.

“Hello?” a voice finally asked. Reyna closed the phone and handed it to Candice. She forced a smile to her face, but as Candice took the phone, a frown came to Reyna's face. There was blood all over the phone. How much blood had she lost?

Reyna looked down. She knew that cell phones acted as a flare that would draw monsters near the user. Considering there was five demigods all clustered in the middle of a forest, monsters already had to be nearby. The phone would just tell the monsters exactly where they were. Sooner or later, all hell would break loose.

Candice stared at the fire and remained silent. She seemed to be lost in though. Reyna glanced at the girl and finally laid back on the ground. She tried to relaxing her aching muscles but also listen for any monsters. Reyna slowly took an inventory of her injuries. She had a concussion, but it wasn't as severe as she thought. Her knee ached miserably, but she could walk on it. Her nose and face ached, but she would live.

After a few minutes, Doris walked back into the clearing. She walked straight towards Candice and pulled her up. Reyna studied Doris, and the rogue Amazon only glared at her. A growl suddenly cut through the tense silence.

Doris looked around and grabbed her sword. Reyna slowly sat up and then forced herself to stand. She looked around and finally found the beady eyes of the hellhound in the treeline. Doris pushed Candice behind her and yelled, “Come and get me!”

Doris charged forward. The hellhound burst into the clearing and jumped right over Doris. Reyna realized that the hellhound was heading straight for Candice, and she cursed. As the hellhound lunged at Candice, Reyna tackled the young girl out of the way.

Reyna painfully sat up and watched another hellhound stalk into the clearing. She scooted backwards and spoke, “We need to run.”

“Doris and the others,” Candice protested. She seemed froze in place. Reyna slowly stood. Doris was focused on fighting the first hellhound. The second was slowly stalking towards them. “I can't leave them.”

“We have to,” Reyna said. She turned to leave, but Candice didn't move. Reyna looked at the young girl, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Reyna shoved Candice out of the way, and the second hellhound slammed into her.

Reyna hit the ground hard and heard a loud crunch. Pain blossomed in her side a moment later. Reyna stared up at the hellhound, and it disintegrated a moment later. Reyna let out a pained breath. Candice stared at Reyna and tightly gripped a dagger.

“We need to go,” Reyna said. She gasped in pain as she stood, and she placed a hand to her side. Reyna winced as she could feel the places where the hellhound's claws had torn into her armor. “We're going to be overrun by monsters soon. Doris is lying to you about the reasons that we are here.”

“We're here on orders from Queen Hylla,” Candice argued, and she took a step backwards. Reyna hobbled forward a few feet. Pain made it hard to think.

“I am Queen Hylla's sister,” Reyna said. Candice stared at her for a few moments, but when she looked in Reyna's eyes, a look of recognition crossed her face. “We need to go. Now!”

Candice glanced back at Doris. She finally nodded and gently grabbed Reyna's hand. Reyna glanced back at Doris as well, but the rogue Amazon was still busy with her fight. Reyna nodded towards Candice, and the two ran out of the clearing.


	5. Dead Reckoning

Annabeth should have realized something was wrong when her phone rang. Only a few people knew her number, but no one called her unless it was an absolute emergency. Annabeth blinked a few times and stared down at her phone. She grabbed it and examined the number. A deep breath left her as she realized it wasn't her parents. Annabeth answered the phone.

“Hello,” Annabeth said. The call immediately ended. Annabeth blinked a few times and lowered the phone. She slipped the phone back in her pocket and saw that Hylla was studying her.

“I didn't realize you had a cell phone. Who was that?” Hylla asked.

“Apparently, a wrong number,” Annabeth said. She could only imagine the lecture if anyone found out that she had brought a cell phone into the camp. They would probably accuse her of planning to destroy the Romans. Hylla nodded, and they walked towards a shop. The only problem was that an older man was locking the door.

“Sir!” Annabeth called. She rushed to his side, and the man looked at her. He gave them a gentle smile and put the keys into his pocket.

“Sorry, we're closed today,” the man said. He whistled and started to walk away. Annabeth's shoulders deflated. Maybe, they could order pizza and meet the pizza guy outside the camp?

Hylla didn't seem like she was going to give up so easily though, as she followed the man and spoke, “Why?”

“Praetor Zhang ordered everyone to have the day off. He said we all deserved a small break after everything that we went through. If you'll excuse me, I am going to spend time with my family,” the man replied.

“Thank you for the time,” Annabeth said. The man smiled at them and walked away. Annabeth waited until he was out of earshot to curse in Ancient Greek.

“I'm going to have a chat with a certain praetor,” Hylla muttered.

“They probably do deserve a break,” Annabeth said, and she shrugged. “I did ask him to make sure that no complications would arise.”

“So, he shuts down all of New Rome just to avoid a complication,” Hylla said. She shook her head and muttered a few choice words in Spanish. “Boys.”

"It is easy to avoid complications if there is nothing to cause a complication," Annabeth countered.

"Now, we have the complication," Hylla said giving her a look. Annabeth finally nodded her agreement. “I say a road trip is in order.”

“We should tell the others first,” Annabeth said. She looked around the streets of New Rome. The streets were empty, and it was oddly quiet. Hylla nodded but suddenly tensed. She took a step backwards and looked like she was trying to find something to lean on. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Hylla said. She stumbled, and Annabeth grabbed her. Hylla pulled away and stumbled towards an outdoor cafe. She sat in a chair and rested her head in her hands. “Something is wrong with Reyna.”

“So, it just wasn't a false alarm,” Annabeth stated. Hylla shook her head, and there was worry in her eyes. The queen of the Amazons stood and started to walk. “How does it work?”

“I just get a feeling,” Hylla answered. She quickened her pace. “It's like a chill down my spine and a bad feeling in my gut. Reyna is in bad shape.”

“We have options to find her,” Annabeth promised, and they quickened their pace. “We can try to use the Pegasi, but they won't get to New York that quick We could also send the others with Leo and Festus, once they get here. Or, Hazel could go with Arion.”

“Reyna left Camp Half-Blood not too long ago. Nico could shadow travel Hazel to the camp, and they can use Arion to look for Reyna together,” Hylla muttered.

As the two of them made it to the front door, Hylla slammed it open. Everyone turned to look at them. Percy looked at them and smiled, until he saw the look on Hylla's face. Leo was sitting in the living room, but he tensed as he saw Hylla.

“Look, I know that you are angry that I ruined the food,” Leo began. He opened his mouth to say more, but Hylla held up a hand.

“Reyna is in danger,” Hylla said. Everyone looked up at her. They all moved closer to Hylla. Annabeth closed the front door. Reyna was more than capable of taking care of herself, but that didn't mean they were just gong to leave her to be in danger.

“How do you know?” Jason asked. Hylla walked towards the table and leaned on it. Everyone gathered around the table. Hylla stared at the ground. Did she blame herself for what happened to Reyna? Annabeth felt terrible. It was her idea to send Reyna to Camp Half-Blood, and Reyna wouldn't be in trouble if it wasn't for that idea.

“I have this gut feeling, but I know it is true. I just don't know where she is,” Hylla said. “Leo, you will take Festus and go with Piper and Jason. The three of you will fly around and keep an eye out. Percy, call Guido and Blackjack. We will be heading to Camp Half-Blood on them. Hazel and Nico can shadow travel.”

“I don't want to be that guy,” Leo began. “But, isn't that going to be suspicious. The Romans will be able to tell something is wrong if we all rush out of here, especially if we are rushing away from Reyna's place. That is also a lot of ground to cover.”

“Then, we better start looking,” Hylla snapped. Annabeth gently grabbed her shoulder. “I can't just let my little sister be in danger.”

“They do have a point, Hylla. We can still send Nico and Hazel, if they are okay with that,” Annabeth said. Annabeth glanced up and was met with two determined nods.

“We'll be back as soon as we find something,” Nico promised. He headed towards the door. Hylla leaned against a chair and gripped it tightly. Annabeth could hear wood starting to break.

“Don't worry, Hylla. We'll find Reyna soon,” Hazel promised. She followed Nico out. Hylla sat in a chair angrily.

“I can't just sit here,” Hylla snapped. Piper placed a hand to her other shoulder. Hylla jerked away from the movement and shook her head angrily.

“It might not be as bad as it seems,” Percy said. “Reyna has her two dogs to keep her safe.”

As if on cue, they all heard a soft scratching at the door. Annabeth slowly walked toward the front door and opened it. A soft curse left her as she looked down at the two automaton dogs. Aurum was dragging Argentum, and Argentum had an arrow buried in his side. Annabeth picked up the dog and walked towards the table.

Leo was at her side before she finished putting Argentum on the table. Percy looked down at the dogs and spoke, “Why would Reyna's dogs be here?”

“This is not good,” Jason commented. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

“They are always at Reyna's side, unless she ordered them to come here, or they would come here if she was dead,” Hylla muttered. She hit the table in anger. Annabeth glanced at Percy. His eyes were wide, but Annabeth didn't think that Reyna was dead.

“Do you think she is?” Piper asked softly. After a few moments of staring at the table, Hylla shook her head. She slowly grabbed onto the arrow buried in Argentum's side and pulled it out. Her other hand rubbed Aurum's ears.

“Can you fix him?” Annabeth asked. Leo gave him a look, like he was insulted by the question. Annabeth returned the look, and Leo finally nodded.

“Can Aurum help us find Reyna?” Percy asked. Annabeth glanced at Hylla, but the queen of the Amazons was focused on the arrow. Annabeth examined the arrow as well. It looked like a normal arrow, but the shaft was black, and two initials were painted on it in gold.

“Those belonged to a former Amazon named Kallie,” Hylla said. She snapped the arrow in half. Annabeth exchanged a look with Percy.

“Former?” Percy asked. Hylla dropped the arrow and sat back in the chair.

“She's one of the rogue Amazons that I mentioned earlier,” Hylla muttered She stood and started to pace. “I don't know why they would attack Reyna though. What could they want with her?”

“Reyna could make a good hostage to get you to do what they wanted,” Jason said. He glanced at Piper.

“How dangerous are they?” Annabeth asked. Hylla stopped walking. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Hylla finally looked up at them.

“Extremely,” Hylla answered. “If they want Reyna, my sister is in serious trouble.”


	6. Matsya Nyaya

Reyna made it twenty feet before her knee gave out on her. She tumbled to the ground and tried to use her momentum to stand back up. All it did was cause her to fall right onto her face. A curse left her. Candice turned back towards her. There was a look of horror on the young girl's face.

“Go!” Reyna ordered. She rolled onto her back and started to scoot backwards. Her knee burned in agony, and she wanted to scream in frustration and pain. After everything she had gone through, she couldn't believe that a messed up kneecap would be the end of her.

“We need to go together,” Candice said. Her eyes held a look like she wouldn't leave Reyna behind. Reyna couldn't protect both of them though. Her side ached, and she felt weak form blood loss. Her knee couldn't support her weight, and she was weaponless.

“You need to leave,” Reyna repeated. Candice shook her head. She grabbed the dagger from her side and used it to cut the rope that kept Reyna's wrist bound. Reyna placed one hand to her side, to try and stop the bleeding.

“Together,” Candice insisted. Reyna bit back a curse and scooted towards a tree. She slowly pulled herself up. Reyna pushed herself off of the tree and hobbled forward. Candice tried to help her walk but clearly wasn't having much luck

Reyna took a pained breath and kept walking. After about two minutes of walking, Candice spoke, “Are you really Queen Hylla's sister?”

“Yes,” Reyna wheezed. She tried to focus on each step ahead of her. Reyna already lost count of how many steps she had taken, but she just wanted to block out all of the pain. Everything was slowing down and almost starting to spin.

“I can see the family resemblance. Well, that was before you had blood all over your face,” Candice said. Reyna nodded and felt herself stumble. She grabbed onto a tree. “Are you okay?”

“I'm f...fine,” Reyna slurred. She stumbled away from the tree and tried to look at Candice, but everything was blurry. Reyna took another step forward, but the world spun. She collapsed to her knees, and a sharp pain shot through her body.

Reyna slowly tried to stand, but she collapsed to the ground completely. Someone shook her shoulder, but she just stared at the ground. Despite the fact that she wasn't moving, everything was spinning a lot more. Reyna closed her eyes tightly, and she felt the world fade away.

* * *

“What in Hades happened here?” Nico asked. He jumped off of Arion and stumbled slightly. It took him a moment to straighten himself and look around the van. There was a few large boulders strewn about, and a white van was laying on its side. Nico recognized the van as one that belonged to Camp Half-Blood.

It was also clear that a boulder had slammed into the van and knocked it on its side. The only question was if Reyna had been in the van at the same time. Hazel moved to Nico's side and spoke, “There was a death here.”

Hazel stared to walk towards the side of the road, and Nico saw a dead girl. She had a black jumpsuit, just like an Amazon. A javelin was buried in her chest. Nico sparred enough with Reyna to recognize the javelin immediately. He turned his head and looked at the rest of the carnage.

A few iron clubs was strewn about, near monster dust. A crumbled shield was laying near the clubs. A glint caught Nico's eye, and he moved over to a dagger. Nico picked the dagger up and sighed. It was of Roman design, so he assumed it belonged to Reyna. Hazel walked around picking up arrows as she went.

“Should we head back?” Hazel asked. Nico walked towards the dead girl and slowly grabbed onto the javelin. He pulled it out of the girl's chest. Nico closed her eyes and then flipped the javelin back into a sword.

“There's a few bloodstains, but nothing that resembles a trail,” Nico commented. A frown came to his face. His best friend was out there alone and possibly unarmed.

“We have a starting point,” Hazel began. She walked towards Arion and fed him a golden nugget. “We should go back and tell the others.”

Nico reluctantly nodded and walked towards Arion. If possible, the horse seemed to glare at him. Nico sneered at the horse, but they suddenly heard a scream. Arion moved to their side, and Hazel pulled herself onto the horse. Nico was right behind her, and Arion took off.

Nico held tightly onto Hazel as Arion raced through the forest. The horse had tried to buck him off before, and he wouldn't be surprised if the stupid horse tried it again. Arion made it into a clearing and stopped. Nico dismounted the horse and looked at the girl lying on her back. She also wore a black jumpsuit.

“I think I recognize her,” Hazel said. She slid off of Arion and slowly moved to the girl's side. “She was one of the Amazons that I ran into when I went on the quest with Percy and Frank. I hung her over the railing.”

Upon hearing Hazel's voice, the girl slowly looked up at them. She coughed and moaned in pain. Her chest had been completely ripped open, and Nico knew that she was close to death. She had to have answers though.

“Where is Reyna?” Nico demanded. He knelt by the girl. She studied him and slowly looked at the sky. “We found her weapon buried in the chest of one of your friends.”

“Doris told me that the praetor would be key to restoring the Amazons to our former glory. We just have to kill her,” the girl whispered. She closed her eyes. “Doris stabbed in the back and left me dead. She didn't even leave me a weapon to fight the Hellhound.”

“Does this Doris have Reyna?” Nico demanded. Hazel grabbed his arm.

“What is your name?” Hazel asked. Her tone was gentle and had a kindness to it. Nico didn't feel very kind at the moment.

“Lulu,” the girl answered. “Please protect Candice. She is too young to suffer for what we did, and please, tell Queen Hylla I'm sorry.”

“We will,” Hazel promised. Lulu smiled, and Nico felt her die. The life left the young girl's eyes, and Nico looked away. He watched Hazel close the girl's eyes.

“We need to go and tell the others what we found,” Nico said. He looked up. Nico hated that they were just leaving, but Hylla could tell her more about these people. Then, they could find Reyna. Nico stood and grabbed Hazel's hand. They stepped into the shadows.


	7. Contender for the Throne

Annabeth really thought that Hylla was going to punch a hole in the wall. As Hylla listened to Nico and Hazel tell everyone about what they found, she only seemed to tense more and more. By the time they finished, Hylla was pacing around angrily.

“Are you sure that Lulu said Doris stabbed her in the back?” Hylla demanded. She focused her gaze on Hazel, but Nico was the who nodded. Hylla swore and continued to pace.

“I'm guessing Doris is the worst of them,” Percy assumed. Hylla stopped walking and looked right at him. She nodded.

“Doris the most dangerous, and she hates me for what happened to her own sister,” Hylla explained. She closed her eyes and seemed to be remembering something painful.

“What happened to her sister?” Annabeth asked. Hylla sat on the table and stared at the ground.

“I led an attack on a Cyclops camp a year ago. The attack diverted from our original plan, and Doris' sister was killed. It was just a stroke of bad luck, but Doris blamed me for it. I led the attack, so according to her, it was my fault,” Hylla explained. “Doris has been wanting revenge ever since.”

“Those rogue Amazons are against you because of that, or do they just not want you to rule?” Jason asked.

“They believed that Otrera should have been given queendom when she returned from death. They supported her, but I gave them another chance. They've hated me ever since,” Hylla answered. She shook her head. “Doris just has an extra reason to hate me.”

“What is our plan then?” Piper asked. Annabeth glanced at Hylla. The queen of the Amazons looked like she had calmed down. Now, she just looked lost in thought.

“I just want to tear apart the entire forest to find my sister, but I can't risk alerting Doris,” Hylla said. She shook her head and seemed to be thinking hard.

“We can't just wait around,” Nico interrupted. Hylla nodded her agreement.

“I don't plan on it, but we have to be smart about this,” Hylla said. She stood and looked at Annabeth. “Can we speak alone?”

“Of course,” Annabeth answered. She shot a look towards Percy and followed Hylla towards the door. Hylla looked back at the others, as if she was studying them. She turned and left the house. Annabeth followed behind her.

They walked without direction. Hylla stayed silent and looked like she was struggling with what she wanted to say. As they walked, Annabeth examined the streets around them and found herself lost in the architecture. It was something that interested her when she first had free reign of New Rome.

“Do you think Reyna has a chance?” Hylla asked. Annabeth looked at her in surprise. Hylla wouldn't meet her eyes.

“Reyna will be fine,” Annabeth promised. She gently grabbed Hylla's shoulder. “Reyna is one of the strongest and most skilled demigods that I know. She'll be fine. She is your sister after all.”

“I'm worried,” Hylla admitted. She stopped walking and looked at Annabeth. “We know that Reyna is weaponless, and she's probably hurt. Doris desires revenge on me, and thanks to Doris' mother, revenge comes almost naturally to her.”

“Nemesis is Doris' mother,” Annabeth guessed. Hylla nodded.

“I've seen opportunities for revenge just land in Doris' lap, no matter how big or small the incident was. Doris wants revenge on me, and she will hurt Reyna to get it. I can't let my sister suffer for my mistakes.”

“What do you know about the rogue Amazons?” Annabeth asked.

“I told you everything you need to know about Doris, and I'm sure she is the leader. The girl she stabbed in the back, Lulu, was her best friend and almost like a second in command. They became close before they broke away,” Hylla said. “The other three are a mixed bag.”

“Vera is a daughter of Ares, and her sister, Kallie, was the girl that had Reyna's javelin buried in her chest. Vera already hates Romans, because her mother was killed by a Roman. The last one is Candice. She's just a ten year old kid who had nowhere to go, and honestly, she reminded me of Reyna. I just wanted to give her a place to live and grow. Instead, she followed Doris everywhere,” Hylla continued.

“Do you think that Reyna can flip Vera or Candice over to her side?” Annabeth asked.

“Like all children of Ares, Vera respects strength, but it looks like Reyna killed her sister. There is no way that Vera will work with her. Candice is a wildcard. She's young and easily influenced, but what is a ten year old going to do?” Hylla muttered.

“We need to find out where Reyna is,” Annabeth said, and she tried to think. “Aurum or Argentum should be able to lead us to her, if we go back to the van. Right?”

“I don't know,” Hylla muttered. She kicked a pebble. “Iris message?”

“Even if we are able to send it to Reyna, it will only attract unwanted attention,” Annabeth said.

“I have no clue where my sister is then,” Hylla snapped. She shook her head. “This is my fault. How did I let it go this far?”

Before Annabeth could answer, Hylla came to a sudden stop. Annabeth stopped and looked up at the large temple that they stood in front of. It wasn't the largest temple in the camp, but she knew it was one of the more important ones. Above the door, there was a sword crossed with a torch.

“I'll meet you back at Reyna's place,” Hylla said. Annabeth nodded. Hylla took a deep breath and stepped into her mother's temple. Annabeth looked away and found herself lost in thought. They needed an inconspicuous way to find Reyna. An idea slowly came to her.

Annabeth started to walk back to Reyna's house. Her idea was, for lack of a better word, insane. She didn't know if it would work, and there was a lot of ways for it to go wrong. Annabeth ran through all of the possible scenarios until she was walking through the door.

Jason was laughing at something Percy said, and the two boys looked at her. Jason spoke, “How's Hylla's doing?”

“She's worried. I have an idea though,” Annabeth said. It was probably one of her worst ideas, but it was still an idea.

“What is is?” Piper asked as she rounded the corner. She sat by Jason. Annabeth slowly looked at Percy.

“I still need to think it over. It's a little risky,” Annabeth said. She sat next to Percy and leaned on him. “And, we need another person to agree on it.”

“Are we just going to sit around while we wait for that person?” Leo asked. Annabeth frowned.

“Of course not,” Annabeth replied. She looked at him. “We have to wait for Hylla to get back, so we can discuss our next step.”

“So, you just want us to sit around and do nothing?” Leo asked, as if looking for confirmation. Annabeth gave him a look. “I'm just saying.”

“Hazel, can you shadow travel with Piper and find someone for me?” Annabeth asked, and she sent a small glare towards Leo. She then looked at Hazel.

“Of course,” Hazel said. Piper nodded her agreement. “Who are we looking for?”

The front door slammed open, and Hylla stepped inside. She took a deep breath and spoke, “I have an idea.”

“Annabeth does as well,” Percy said. Hylla nodded and closed the door behind her.

“What is it?” Hylla asked. Both Aurum and Argentum growled. Argentum had been repaired by Leo, and he also took care of some of their smaller cuts and scrapes. Hylla had been looking at Annabeth, but her eyes narrowed into a glare. Annabeth slowly turned around.

“Oh, please do not stop on my account,” a woman said. Annabeth stared at Iris message. She studied the woman in the Iris message. The woman had curly black hair and cruel brown eyes. There was small cuts all over her face, but she also had a smirk.

“Doris,” Hylla practically growled. She stepped forward.

“Queen Hylla,” Doris said, and she gave a mock bow. Hylla took another step forward, and Annabeth grabbed her arm.

“Why would you send an Iris message to us?” Annabeth questioned. Doris ignored her and seemed to be completely focused on Hylla. There was amusement in her eyes.

“Have you been in contact with your dear sister?” Doris wondered. She hummed softly and leaned on a tree. Annabeth studied the Iris message. Doris seemed to have monster dust on her clothes.

“What is the point of all of this?” Hylla demanded. She took a step closer. “Why are you too much of a coward to face me yourself? Why attack my sister?”

“I just wanted to chat with you,” Doris answered. The smirk on her face grew. “And, I want to warn you that it is a waste of time looking for your sister. When I get my hands on her, she is dead.”

“I cannot wait for Reyna to knock that smirk off of your face,” Hylla said. Her fist were clenched tightly.

“Reyna won't be doing anything. She can barely walk, and she has such a bad concussion that I doubt she can tell left from right. Should I even talk about how much blood she lost when Vera pinned her to the ground and punched her over and over and over again?” Doris taunted.

“I am going to kill you,” Hylla snapped. She looked at the corner of the room. “Nico, we are shadow traveling now.”

“Oh my queen, I would not do that,” Doris warned.

“I think we've heard enough of your taunting,” Annabeth interrupted. She raised her hand to run it through the Iris message. If possible, Doris' smirk grew. A hand grabbed Annabeth's arm.

“Why don't I want to go there and kick your ass?” Hylla asked. Annabeth wanted to tell Hylla that Doris was only trying to get in her head. It was clearing working too.

“Do you know what I am going to do?” Doris asked. She held up a cell phone. “I plan on doing what you sister did.”

Doris didn't elaborate. After a long moment of silence, Hylla spoke, “What did Reyna do?”

“Your little sister used a phone just like this to call someone. It told all the monsters hiding on the outskirts of the forest exactly where we were. When Hellhounds attacked, your sister ran like the coward she is,” Doris said. Annabeth's hand subconsciously moved to her pocket, and Doris seemed to notice the movement. “So, you were the one that she called.”

“If you want revenge Doris, just come and get it. Leave my sister out of this!” Hylla snapped.

“I'll let Reyna know that you love her, as I have my foot on her neck,” Doris promised. Piper ended the Iris message. Hylla grabbed a chair and threw it clear across the room. She let out a string of curses.

“Doris is just trying to throw you off your game,” Piper began.

“I know,” Hylla interrupted. Annabeth placed a hand to Hylla's shoulder. “It worked pretty well.”

“I have a plan. Just listen to it and try to calm down,” Annabeth said. Hylla took a few deep breaths and finally nodded.

Let's hear it,” Hylla said. She looked at Annabeth. There was a deep look of rage in her eyes, and Annabeth knew they needed to get that anger under control. If they weren't careful, Reyna was going to be the one suffering for their mistakes.


	8. Uneasy Alliance

Reyna's dreamless sleep was interrupted by talking. Her eyes slowly drifted open, and she looked around. She was laying on her side and had her cape draped over her. The sky was slowly darkening. How long had she been unconscious?

“Are you sure her knee will be okay?” a quiet voice asked. Reyna blinked a few times and looked at the fire near her. Two shapes were sitting next to the fire. One cleaned a large knife and glanced at Reyna every so often. The other, a young girl, was practically curled up near the fire.

“I really don't care,” the figure cleaning the knife said. Reyna recognized the voice but could not place it. She remembered the van breaking down, and everything after that was fuzzy. “We should have just left her to the monsters.”

“She didn't mean it Vera,” the younger girl said. Reyna's eyes snapped open at the name. She remembered Vera assaulting her, and the events of the day came back to her. Reyna tried to sit up but couldn't stop her groan of pain. Vera looked at her and stood.

Vera's jacket was covered in blood and cuts. She walked towards Reyna. Since Reyna was rather defenseless, she tried to raise her arms to protect herself. Instead of trying to kick her face in, Vera pulled her to her feet. Reyna's knee almost gave out on, but Vera steadied her.

“We need to get going,” Vera growled. Reyna slowly looked around and winced at the pain that shot through her skull. Her side ached as well, and she placed a hand to the wound. It felt like someone had removed her armor, hastily bandaged the wound, and then put her armor back on.

“Where are we?” Reyna asked. She winced as Vera shoved her into a tree and walked back towards the fire. Vera kicked the fire out, and Candice moved to Reyna's side. “What happened?”

“Start walking,” Vera snapped. Candice grabbed Reyna's hand and squeezed it. Reyna slowly started to walk. Her knee still ached, but she could walk. “Thanks to your wonderful plan, we are on the run.”

As Reyna walked, Candice stayed at her side. Vera trailed behind, like she was worried that Reyna would make a run for it. Candice spoke, “Vera found the two of us in the forest. I was trying to drag you, but you were pretty heavy. Vera wanted to leave you, but I told her that you helped me.”

Reyna looked at the ground and realized she was having a really crappy birthday. She slowly looked back at Vera, and all she got was a hateful glare. Reyna debated making a break for it. Vera would probably care more about Candice than her, but while she could walk, she didn't think her knee would support running.

“Candice insisted on giving you nectar,” Vera muttered. “We shouldn't have wasted it, but we did. Candice thought you were going to bleed out, but I don't see a problem with that.”

“Thanks,” Reyna said to Candice. The young girl just gave her a wide grin. A small smile came to Reyna's face, and she focused ahead. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but she didn't feel rested. Reyna also knew how lucky she was to be alive.

“Don't think this makes us friends,” Vera said. She walked up to Reyna's side. “You killed my sister, and I will never forgive you for that.”

“It was self defense,” Reyna said, and she met Vera's eyes. She didn't know if explaining what had happened would help, but she had to try. “Your two friends could have saved her if they tried. They were more focused on me instead.”

“Shut up,” Vera snapped. She slammed Reyna into a tree and glared at her. Reyna just stared into her eyes and refused to show any of the pain that was shooting through her body. Vera wouldn't care. In fact, she would probably enjoy it.

“Doris was planning on killing all three of you and sparing Candice. She was glad that your sister had been killed,” Reyna continued. A forearm pressed against her throat, but she didn't show fear.

“I understand that Doris is a backstabbing bitch!” Vera snapped. “I watched her stab Lulu in the back and leave her for dead. That does not change anything between us. You killed my sister, and if Candice did not beg, I would have left you for dead.”

“Guys, we need to go,” Candice interrupted. Vera glared at Reyna but finally backed away. Reyna pushed herself off of the tree and did not break her gaze from Vera. The praetor finally sighed and looked away.

“Let's get out of here. Then, you can beat my face in again,” Reyna offered. She knew how desperate she was, and Vera had to know as well.

“Fine,” Vera muttered. She took a deep breath and slowly popped her neck. “Do you need help walking?”

“No,” Reyna answered. She limped forward and bit back a cry of pain. “Do we know how many monsters are in the forest?”

“No. I killed about ten before I found the two of you,” Vera said. Reyna nodded and started to walk again. Her and Vera had made something almost like a truce, but there was no way it was going to last long.

“Where are we going?” Candice asked. She walked in between Vera and Reyna. It was taking all of Reyna's focus to make her way through the forest and not jolt her knee anymore.

“We need to get back to the city. I know someone who can give us a ride,” Vera said.

“There's Camp Half-Blood as well,” Reyna said. Vera shrugged. Reyna looked away. She wasn't quite sure how to get back to Camp Half-Blood, and Vera seemed to know the forest better than her. “Where would the ride take us?”

“To an Amazon base,” Vera replied. “Then, I can beg for forgiveness from your sister. Hopefully, she won't kill me on the spot. We'll get you patched up and back to your camp.”

“What about Doris?” Candice asked. Vera stopped walking and turned towards Candice. She grabbed the young girl's shoulder and knelt in front of her.

“Sweetie, Doris is not a good influence anymore,” Vera said. She smiled slightly. “I know you look up to her, but she is not going about our mission the right way.”

“Doris wanted to take the power for herself,” Reyna interrupted. “Her support of Otrera was just a ruse, and you, Vera, were suppose to take the fall for killing me.”

Reyna repeated everything that Doris had said to her. Vera listened quietly and seemed to grow angrier and angrier with each second. She gripped her sword and took a deep breath. Candice was looking between them and had a small frown on her face. Reyna wasn't sure if the situation was going over the young girl's head or not.

“We need to go,” Vera finally said. She stood and gently grabbed Candice's arm. The three of them started to walk again. Reyna focused on trying to keep the pressure off of her knee. Candice stayed close to Vera.

As they walked, dread started to settle in Reyna's stomach. This part of the forest was extremely quiet, like nature had paused itself and was just waiting for the right moment. Something here was wrong, but Reyna didn't know what it was.

As Reyna looked at Vera to voice her concerns, she heard the snapping of metal. Vera yelled in pain and collapsed to one knee. Reyna looked down and stared at the bear trap that was closed around Vera's ankle. Candice froze and stared at them.

Vera slowly sat down and tried to pry the bear trap open. Reyna knelt by her and examined the bear trap. It had razor sharp edges that were drawing blood, but it didn't look like the trap had broken Vera's ankle. Reyna doubted that a mortal would have done this, so who set the trap?

“Get it open so we can go,” Vera ordered. She closed her eyes and was starting to sweat.

“Nectar?” Reyna asked. Candice handed her a canteen. Reyna opened it and saw it was half full. “The bear trap is poisoned. I'll have to pry it open, and we'll have to take care of that wound immediately.”

“What kind of mortal sets a poisoned bear trap?” Vera demanded. Candice grabbed her hand. Reyna glanced around and felt like they were being watched. She didn't see any monsters though.

“I doubt it was mortals,” Reyna finally answered. She tore off some of her jacket and wrapped the pieces around her hand. Reyna knew she would probably have to pry the trap open, but she would prefer to cut it. Reyna placed the dagger to the bear trap. The air next to her shifted.

Reyna stood and held out the dagger. Everything looked normal, but the shadows seemed like they were watching her. Reyna stood in front of her Vera, and the shadows spoke, “Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.”

“Who are you?” Reyna asked. She slowly lowered the dagger but kept it in a defensive position.

“Your friend was caught in my trap?” the voice asked. Reyna couldn't see anyone in the shadows, but she knew someone was there. The voice was unfamiliar. “Zeus wanted me to try the traps out on monsters around this forest. With it being so close to Camp Half-Blood, it is a haven for monsters, and so many of you half-bloods just rush on through.”

“Who are you?” Candice asked. She took a step towards the darkness, but Reyna grabbed her shoulder.

“Candice Ann Auriolus,” the voice commented. It almost seemed amused. “Your mother always had a sense of irony.”

“You know my mother?” Candice asked. “Who is she?”

“I hate to interrupt,” Vera said. Reyna risked looking back at the demigod. “I'm kind of dying here.”

“Apologies,” the voice said. Reyna heard the sound of fingers snapping, and the bear trap opened. Vera scooted backwards and gripped her leg. Reyna knelt next to her and quickly tried to stop the bleeding. She also tried to pour nectar on her wounds, but Vera grabbed her hand.

“I can handle myself,” Vera snapped. “Just see what our friend wants in return.”

Reyna nodded and handed Vera the canteen. She slowly stood and looked back at the shadows. She couldn't see anyone. It was like she was talking to thin air. Reyna spoke, “Thank you for helping my friend.”

The words sounded weird for Reyna to say. The figure in the shadows chuckled with amusement. Vera spoke, “What do you want for repayment? Should we go find more metal for you traps? Maybe, we can attract more monsters, so you can test out your traps?

Reyna shot Vera a look that told her to shut up. Vera glared hatefully but slowly focused on bandaging her leg. Reyna whispered. “Can you not upset the person who can smite us with a thought?”

“Can I not help out of the kindness of my heart?” the voice asked. They sounded more amused than insulted.

“My lord, it is just that most of the Olympian's requite some kind of payment or tribute for their help,” Reyna began. “Minor gods do as well. Kindness is rare.”

“I guess that is the difference between Olympians and Titans,” the voice said. Reyna stared at him and tried to hide her surprise. The Titans that she had fought were all evil and beyond redemption. Air seemed to move from the shadows, and it started to form the image of a person. It fully solidified into a cloaked figure, but by their build, it was a man.

“I helped out the Olympians during these last few years,” the Titan said. His cloak made it impossible to see any of his features. “It is better than being punished by having to hold up the sky or any of the other punishments that my brethren have to go through.”

“And, who are you?” Candice asked. Reyna slowly lowered the dagger and slipped it into her belt. She turned towards Vera and helped her stand.

“Lelantos,” the Titan replied. Reyna looked back at him. She had absolutely no clue who he was.

“Why would a Titan help us?” Vera asked. She pulled away from Reyna and glared at Lelantos. Reyna gave her a look. With how much trouble they were already in, they did not need to make it any worse.

“You set of my favorite trap,” Lelantos answered. Reyna got the feeling that he was being completely serious.

“We apologize for the inconvenience,” Reyna said. Lelantos studied her, and Reyna could have sworn that she saw something like a smile underneath his hood.

“It has been a long time since a half-blood has treated me with respect,” Lelantos said. A sad sigh left him. “I do hope you survive your encounter.”

“Encounter?” Reyna asked. She glanced around, thinking there was a monster nearby. When she looked back at Lelantos, it seemed like he was slowly focused on her.

“The daughter of Nemesis is hunting you, and that means you are her prey,” Lelantos said. “While air is my domain, I know a little something about the skills of hunting prey. You are in her crosshairs.”

“We should get moving them,” Vera muttered. Reyna nodded slightly and looked down. Why would Doris target Reyna, if her problem was with Hylla?

“Has Doris prayed to you for help?” Reyna questioned. Another chuckle left Lelantos.

“Has anyone prayed to a Titan for anything?” Lelantos asked. His tone didn't hold the amusement that his chuckle had. He sounded sad and maybe even a little wishful.

“Thank you for releasing me from your trap, but we really need to go. Now,” Vera interrupted.

“Thank you for the help, Lelantos,” Reyna said. She studied the Titan for another moment. “And, thank you for warning me about Doris.”

Lelantos seemed to smile, but he remained silent. The air shimmered around him, and he disappeared. Vera spoke, “Let's go. We wasted enough time.”

Vera turned and started to limp away. Reyna slowly followed behind her, and Candice stayed between them. As they walked, Reyna would find herself instinctively sidestep a trap that had been set for monsters. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until they heard a twig snap. Reyna glanced down, but there was no twigs beneath their feet.

Reyna stopped walking and slowly looked around. She could feel that someone was watching her. Vera grabbed her arm and said something, but Reyna didn't hear it. She saw a movement in the trees, and she suddenly shoved Vera to the ground. A spike flew over Vera's head.

“Go,” Reyna said. She pulled Vera to her feet, and a monster jumped into the clearing. It had the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. The human head of the beast slowly looked between them. Reyna just stared at the Manticore.

“How many monsters did you attract?” Vera demanded. Reyna didn't answer. She was frozen in shock.

“Go Candice out of here,” Reyna ordered after a moment. She took a deep breath and grabbed the dagger from her belt. “I'll hold off the Manticore.”

“Praetor, we are in this together,” Vera said. She grabbed her sword and held it out towards the beast. They both stood in front of Candice. The Manticore watched them in amusement.

“It took an Olympian to kill me years ago. Two of the most powerful demigods could not defeat me. What chance do you three have?” the Manticore asked.

“Why don't you shut up, and we'll find out?” Reyna asked. She gripped the dagger and tried to hide her nervousness.

“As you wish,” the Manticore said. A smile came to his face, and he slowly looked between the three of them. Then, he lunged towards them.


	9. Theatrum Mundi

“Are you going to keep staring?” Hedge demanded. He looked at all of the demigods in front of him. They had appeared at Camp Half-Blood and told him they needed help with an urgent matter. Hedge didn't know if it was urgent enough to drag him all the way to Camp Jupiter after they interrupted him showing his son the beauty of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Once Annabeth explained the situation, everything changed for Hedge. All he wanted to do was go to the forest and find those rogue Amazons. His club would teach them a lesson. Instead, he was stuck watching an agitated Hylla pace back and forth. Annabeth was sitting across from him. They had just finished telling him the plan and seemed worried that he wouldn't agree to it. Hedge had already made up his mind.

“Can you help?” Piper asked. Hedge glanced back at her. When he looked forward again, Hylla had stopped pacing and was staring at him, like he could snap his fingers and solve all of her problems. Hedge looked away from the piercing gaze.

“Empathy links are a tricky thing,” Hedge began. Hylla held up a hand.

“You can find Reyna with it, right?” Hylla asked. She took a step closer to Hedge.

“Hedge wasn't lying when he said it was risky,” Percy said. He passed drinks around to everyone. “If the worst happens to Reyna, the same thing will happen to coach, or he might become a vegetable.”

“Reyna will be fine,” Hylla snapped. As she took another step closer, Annabeth grabbed her arm. The two looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. Hylla slowly sat in a chair and stared at the ground. “Can you do this, Hedge?”

“Of course I can,” Hedge said. Hylla let out a deep sigh of relief, and her shoulders seemed to relax. “I just need silence, so I can concentrate.”

Hedge closed his eyes and thought of the praetor. While Hedge had never made an empathy link before, he knew how to do it, and he had taught plenty of other Satyrs how to create one. The hardest thing about those empathy links was that a personal connection was needed. Without any kind of connection, an empathy link was impossible.

Saving the world was exactly the connection that Hedge needed. Sure, the seven of the prophecy had fought Gaea's minions and put her back to sleep, but they would have never had the opportunity to do so if Hedge, Reyna, and Nico didn't deliver the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood.

Hedge took a deep breath and focused on one of his memories with Reyna. It was a small one where they were sitting around a fire and not saying a word, but that memory was Hedge's favorite. With silence, one would show their true intentions. As he focused on the memory, a few words of ancient Greek left his lips. The world around him changed.

Hedge blinked a few times and slowly got his bearings. He was surrounded by lush, green trees. As Hedge examined the trees, he found black spikes buried into a few of them. Hedge heard a noise and turned to his right. His eyes widened as he saw Reyna throw her cape in front of herself. A spike bounced harmlessly off of it.

A look to his left showed two other girls. A young, maybe about ten years old, had a black spike buried in her shoulder. An older girl knelt next to her. Hedge focused on the girl's cruel face. He then looked at the monster, the Manticore, that was surveying the destruction.

“Stay back, Manticore,” the older girl sneered. Hedge glanced back at Reyna. She was slowly trying to circle around the back of the Manticore. The beast swiped at her with its tail. Reyna jumped back and stumbled. She cursed in pain and gripped her knee, but she was able to stay on her feet.

Reyna dodged another swipe from the tail of the Manticore. She grabbed one of the spikes that had been buried into a tree. Reyna threw it at the Manticore. It grazed the monster's face, and the monster backed away.

“Reyna!” Hedge called. He really hated to distract her, but he also needed to warn her. Reyna looked at him and blinked in surprise. Her eyebrows came together in confusion, and she seemed to be trying to figure out exactly how Hedge was there.

“How?” Reyna asked. Her head quickly snapped back towards the Manticore. She barely brought her cape up to protect herself. Spikes harmlessly bounced off of the cape. Reyna backed away and glanced at Hedge again.

“You better not die,” Hedge warned. Reyna grunted in response. She rolled away from another attack and hobbled into a standing position. The older girl attacked the Manticore from his other side.

“Trust me Hedge, I really don't plan on dying,” Reyna snapped. She hit her leg above her knee and let out a curse of pain.

“You should see to that, cupcake. If you die, I die too,” Hedge said. Reyna froze and stared at him. Hedge tried to call a warning, but the full weight of the Manticore's tail slammed into Reyna's chest. Hedge winced as Reyna slammed into the tree and collapsed to her knees. A pained noise escaped her.

Hedge examined Reyna, knowing that Hylla would be asking about her. The praetor didn't look so good. Her armor was dented, scratched, and covered in a mixture of blood, monster dust, and dirt. Her face was a bloody mess, and her nose was definitely broken.

“Hedge, what are you talking about?” Reyna wheezed. It looked like the breath had been knocked right out of here. “Are you actually here?”

“I established an empathy link to find you. We're connected now, so I need you to get up and destroy the Manticore. For me,” Hedge said. He saw that the older girl was leading the Manticore away.

“Empathy link?” Reyna asked. She slowly tried to stand, and she stumbled forward. Hedge reached out to grab her, but his hand went right through her. Reyna stared at him.

“It's complicated. Don't worry about it just yet,” Hedge said. He knew it was going to be complicated to explain, especially since he may have pulled her into an almost dreamlike state with appearing in front of her. It was something that only older Satyrs could do. Most of them had to rely on when their linked demigod was sleeping, but Hedge guessed he was just special, and stubborn. “Get to work and destroy that beast.”

“Vera!” the younger girl cried. She tried to sit up but looked sick. Hedge glanced to his right and saw that the older girl was fighting a losing battle. Reyna cursed and slammed right into the Manticore. Hedge's concentration broke, and he found himself back with the other demigods. They were all watching him carefully.

“Where is she?” Hylla asked. She had started her pacing against and was watching Hedge. Her gaze was absolutely piercing, and it made Hedge feel rather uncomfortable.

“I can guide you to where she is,” Hedge began. If someone handed him a map, he wouldn't be able to point out Reyna's location, but he could just sense where she was. If he started walking, he could find her. “There is a slight problem. Her and two others are fighting a Manticore.”

“Two others?” Hylla asked. Her eyes narrowed, and she seemed like she was lost in thought. Hedge nodded. “How is Reyna?”

“Banged up,” Hedge answered after a few moments. Hylla's eyes narrowed, and it was clear she wanted him to elaborate. Hedge wasn't quite sure if that was the best idea though. “She's not in a good shape, Hylla.”

“We should be able to shadow travel to the van, and Hedge can guide us from there,” Nico suggested. Hylla looked at him and then walked towards his side. Hedge joined them in standing.

“Let's go then,” Hylla said. Nico held out his hand, and after a moment of staring, Hylla grabbed the hand. Hedge hid his amusement at Hylla's annoyance and grabbed Nico's hand as well.

“Who else should come with? “Hazel asked. She stood and offered her own hand to anyone else. Hedge looked around at the rest of the demigods. They would definitely need to limit who they brought with them. The more demigods they had would mean it was more draining to shadow travel, and they would also be more attractive to monsters.

“I will,” Annabeth said. She stood and moved to Hazel's side. After a moment, Piper slowly stood.

“I should go too,” Piper began. She made it to their side. “There is the possibility that I can talk Doris down.”

“Let's get going and not waste anymore time. Boys, you can try to salvage the party,” Hylla said. Her foot tapped impatiently against the ground. Hedge was all for rash actions, but he was worried that Hylla would be a little too rash. He didn't doubt she would be fueled by emotions instead of rationality.

“This will be the best party that she has ever had,” Percy promised. Jason nodded his agreement.

“I hope so,” Hylla muttered more to herself than anyone else. She looked at Nico and nodded. They turned off the lights, and Nico closed his eyes. He seemed to concentrate, and Hedge closed his eyes as well. Seconds passed, but nothing happened, other than Hedge's stomach growling.

“Nico, is everything okay?” Annabeth asked after a moment. Hedge opened his eyes. He saw that Hazel's face was screwed up in concentration, but she didn't seem to have any luck either. Nico opened his eyes, and there was a frown on his face. “Do you have enough shadows?”

“Something is blocking me from shadow traveling,” Nico answered after a few moments. Everyone turned to look at him. Nico didn't meet their eyes and just stared at the ground.

“I think we can shadow travel to anywhere, except for where Reyna is,” Hazel began. Percy slowly turned the lights back on, and they all looked at each other. Hylla started to pace angrily.

“Should we go back to Camp Half-Blood then and go from there?” Percy asked awkwardly. Hedge looked in between the demigods. Had he been their last ditch effort?

“I think it's the only real choice,” Annabeth answered. She looked at Hylla. After a few moments, Hylla nodded begrudgingly. She took a deep breath and seemed to be trying to calm herself down.

“Let's go and find my sister,” Hylla said with a determined looked. Her gaze moved to Hedge, and Hedge gave her a small nod. He wasn't so worried about what happened to Reyna. If anyone did hurt the praetor, Hedge knew Hylla would do much worse to them.


	10. No Good Deed

Out of everything that had happened to Reyna that day, the worst thing was having her nose broken twice. It was almost funny. Reyna could handle stab wounds and even broken bones. Her weakness was a broken nose though. Something about the pain disoriented her and made it hard to think.

The fight with the Manticore wasn't going well at all. It had moved so fast in the beginning that it Reyna hadn't been able to follow the tail. That stupid tail had knocked Reyna's feet out from under her, but she was able to use her face to catch her fall. That fall broke her nose for the second time.

Vera and Candice had distracted the Manticore long enough for Reyna to get her bearings, but Candice was quickly be taken out of the fight as a spike hit her shoulder. Reyna knew that the spikes were poisonous, and the Manticore seemed to have an unending supply of them.

Together, Reyna and Vera had tried to attack the Manticore. The beast moved with such speed and fury that they were both backpedaling the entire fight, and Vera was clearly focused on Candice more than her enemy. Reyna had sent Vera to take care of the young girl, leaving her alone with the Manticore.

The fight between Reyna and the Manticore was pretty one sided. Reyna was too busy trying to dodge the spikes of the Manticore and also its tail. With her knee, it was more exhausting than she wanted to admit. Things were only made worse when Hedge appeared in front of her and told her about the empathy link.

How could Hedge just hand over control of his life like that? How were they now attached? Reyna was use to the responsibility of holding someone's life in her hands. That's what being a praetor was all about, but this empathy link was different. If she died, Hedge would die as well. Reyna was going to kick Hedge in his furry behind.

Now, Reyna was regretting slamming into the Manticore. She had done it to distract the monster from Vera, but it felt like hitting a brick wall. Reyna stumbled backwards to get away from the Manticore. She glanced back to see that Vera was nursing her side, where a spike had grazed it. Candice was still hunched over and gripping her shoulder.

They had landed a few scratches on the Manticore, but it didn't seem to be bothering him. Reyna slowly started to realize that their situation was looking hopeless. Nothing they did seemed to be working, so they needed to change their plan.

“Vera, you need to get Candice and leave,” Reyna said, and she moved to Vera's side. She helped her stand. The Manticore had backed off slightly and seemed to be studying them. “Get out of here.”

“If the Manticore kills you, I won't be able to beat your face in later,” Vera muttered. She shoved Reyna away from her. Reyna stared at the demigod in front of her and hoped that she was joking.

“Do you have a plan then?” Reyna snapped. Vera didn't respond. Reyna gripped her dagger and slowly looked around. “Take Candice and run.”

“I already told you no,” Vera snapped. An amused chuckled left the Manticore, and Reyna glared at the monster. He seemed amused by the fact that they were arguing, and it was starting to fuel Reyna's anger. She was normally able to control her temper, but it was starting to bubble out of control.

“I have a plan,” Reyna whispered. “I need the Manticore to follow me. Do you remember where we met Lelantos?”

“You want me to take care of Candice and then meet you there?” Vera asked. Reyna nodded slightly. Vera studied her for a long moment and finally nodded. “Stay safe.”

Vera glanced at the Manticore. Then, she scooped Candice up and ran away. The Manticore watched her with an evil smile on his face. He spoke, “So, you are the only one brave enough to continue fighting me?”

“It has been a long time since I have killed a Roman,” the Manticore continued. Reyna took deep breaths to calm herself down. She took a few steps towards a tree and placed her back to it. Reyna slowly reached her hand behind her and felt for one of the spikes. Her hand tightened around it.

“I haven't fought or killed a Manticore,” Reyna said. She pulled the spike out of the tree but was careful not to move too much. “Yet.”

Reyna threw the spike right at the Manticore. Instead of seeing if it hit or not, she turned and ran. Reyna weaved in between the tree and tried to ignore the terrible pain in her knee. The injury kept her from going at full speed, but she could hear that the Manticore was gaining on her.

Reyna glanced behind her and moved around a tree. She felt her foot catch on a tree root, and she fell to the ground. Reyna fell on her injured knee first, and she yelled in pain. All she wanted to do was collapse and scream in pain. Instead, she forced herself to her feet.

“I don't have anything to offer you, Lelantos,” Reyna whispered. She turned towards the Manticore and stumbled backwards. Her knee was barely supporting her weight. The Manticore slowly stalked towards her, clearly realizing that his prey was injured. Reyna glanced behind her and spotted the bear trap that she wanted. It was the same one that Vera had stepped in.

“Who were the demigods that you fought?” Reyna asked. She stumbled backwards, and the Manticore lunged at her. Reyna dove to the side and tried to stand. Something slammed into her knee a moment later, and Reyna yelled in pain.

Reyna fell to her knees. She quickly used one of her hands to steady herself and lifted her injured knee. A black spike was buried directly into the middle of her kneecap, and she could already feel the poison. The Manticore circled around her. Reyna couldn't even try to stand.

“Their names are Perseus Jackson and Thalia Grace. It is not hard to imagine that you are quite underwhelming compared to them,” the Manticore answered. Reyna closed her eyes for a few moments and forced herself to her feet. She stumbled backwards.

Reyna opened her eyes and threw the dagger at the Manticore. She watched as the hilt hit the monster's chest and then bounce harmlessly off of it. Reyna let out a curse and tried to throw herself backwards. The Manticore lunged and slammed directly into her.

As Reyna hit the ground, she heard the sound of a bear trap snapping shut. The Manticore slowly looked at the bear trap that had wrapped around his limb. Reyna wasted no time in grabbing the spike from her knee. She tore it from her knee and then stabbed it into the Manticore's chest.

As the Manticore exploded into monster dust, Reyna laid her head back and groaned in pain. She felt something land on her chest, and it took her a few moments to look at the end of the scorpion tail. Reyna slowly grabbed it and threw it into the air. As it disappeared, Reyna spoke, “Thank you, Lelantos.”

Reyna laid her head back again and slowly reached into her pocket. She pulled out the small amount of nectar she had left and poured it on her knee. A small amount of Unicorn power followed later. Reyna turned on her side and slowly pulled her knee close. She cut off more pieces of her jacket and wrapped it tightly around her knee. Then, Reyna closed her eyes and tried to relax.

The events of the day were quickly catching up to her. Reyna doubted she could walk, and all she really wanted to do in that moment was pass out. There was two things that kept Reyna awake. One was the pain in her knee. The second was the loud thunder in the distance.

Rain would be nice, but it would also make everything harder. Visibility would be limited, and the ground would turn muddy. Along with being difficult to walk in, the mud would make it easier for infection to set in. A darkened sky would mean darker surroundings.

Reyna heard a branch snap, and her eyes opened. She figured it was Vera, and a relieved sigh left her. Reyna turned on her back and looked up at the woman standing above her. A foot pressed in on her chest and kept her pinned to the ground. Reyna stared up at Doris, and after a few moments, Doris spoke, “Well. Well. Well. What do we have here?”


	11. With Us or Against Us

“Reyna is missing?” Chiron asked quietly. He looked at Hylla and Annabeth for a few moments. Then, he turned his gaze towards the campers who were all holding bows and waiting for his instructions. Annabeth could see their less experienced campers were getting archery lessons from Chiron himself.

“We know where Reyna is, mostly,” Hylla answered. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Annabeth could see how irritated Hylla was. “We just can't use shadow travel to get there.”

“Hedge made an empathy link with Reyna. We were going to take him to the last place that we knew Reyna was, but that plan fell apart. We told Hedge to stay behind and relax while we talk to you,” Annabeth explained.

“Campers, continue to practice. Remember to fully draw the string back and take a deep breath before you fire,” Chiron instructed. He led Annabeth and Hylla away. As they walked towards the Big House, Annabeth explained the events of the day. Chiron listened quietly.

“Do you have any idea why we're unable to shadow travel to where Reyna is?” Hylla asked. Chiron led them towards the porch and motioned to the table. After a moment, Hylla sat at the table. Annabeth took a seat next to her.

“You were able to shadow travel here without a problem, correct?” Chiron questioned.

“Nico and Hazel could go anywhere but where Reyna is,” Hylla answered. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don't know what it going on.”

“I have never heard of shadow travel being blocked,” Chiron said, and he rubbed his chin. They heard the sound of footsteps, and Annabeth turned. She saw a young boy about eleven being led by a Satyr.

“Grover?” Annabeth asked. Grover smiled at her, and the two hugged. Annabeth finally pulled away and looked at the boy next to Grover. The boy was staring at Chiron, and his jaw was wide open.

“Is that a Centaur?” the boy finally asked. A smile came to Chiron's face.

“Yes, I am. My name is Chiron, and you must be the young demigod that Grover told me about,” Chiron said. The demigod just stared up at him in amazement.

“We would have made it here sooner, but we couldn't walk into certain parts of the forest,” Grover said. Annabeth noticed that the boy was wearing the uniform of the boy scouts, which explained why he was even in the forest in the first place.

“What happened when you tried to?” Hylla asked. She crossed her arms.

“It was like we were trying to walk into a wall. The air itself seemed to be pushing up back,” Grover answered.

“I even tried running into it,” the boy said, and he had a huge grin on his face.

“Chiron, could Nemesis do something like that?” Annabeth asked. Chiron seemed to think about it, but he shook his head. Annabeth looked down. So, Doris wasn't calling upon her mother for help.

“Grover, please give our new camper a tour and show him the orientation video,” Chiron said. Grover nodded and led the boy away. Annabeth and Hylla both looked at Chiron.

“I have never heard of the air forcing some backwards like that. It does not seemed like something that Nemesis would do, even if she could,” Chiron said.

“I'm tired of not knowing,” Hylla muttered. She rubbed her eyes and then crossed her arms. Annabeth sat back at the table and studied the queen of the Amazons.

“Do we have four for Pinochle?” Dionysus asked as he walked outside. He sat next to Chiron and waved his hand. A diet coke appeared in front of him, and he took a sip from it.

“Could you help us with a problem?” Hylla asked. She sat forward and studied the Olympian. After a few moments of examining his soda, Dionysus looked at Hylla. He seemed to realize that she was talking to him, and a scowl came to his face.

“I could help you, but will I help you? That matter is up for debate,” Dionysus said. He looked at Chiron. “Why did Zeus send me back here again?”

“To serve out your punishment,” Chiron replied. He started to pass out cards for Pinochle. Annabeth grabbed her cards and mindlessly flipped through them. Hylla was staring at the cards and seemed confused by them.

“I enjoyed my freedom away from here and all of the problems that everyone seems to have,” Dionysus said, and he waved his hand. “Now, let us play.”

“My sister is missing,” Hylla snapped. “And, all you care about is a stupid card game.”

“You would be wise to remember who you are speaking to,” Dionysus warned. He studied Hylla intently, and a dangerous gleam flashed in his eyes. Hylla looked away and glared at the ground.

“It is most curious,” Chiron said quickly “Grover reported that he could not walk into a certain part of the forest, and it seemed like the air pushed against him. It seems like that is the same part of the forest where Reyna is. It has been blocked off.”

“The praetor?” Dionysus asked. He sounded bored and was staring at his cards. Hylla nodded slightly. “I know part of the forest is closed off for Zeus' monster trapper to work on his contraptions. It was closed off a hour ago, as their was a sudden surge of monsters.”

“That could be why we cannot shadow travel there,” Nico commented as he walked towards them. His boyfriend, Will Solace, followed behind him with a small smile.

“If we can't get in, could Reyna get out?” Annabeth asked. Dionysus shrugged. Chiron didn't seem like he knew the answer to that.

“So, we're back to square one. We don't have a way to get inside the forest,” Hylla grumbled. She dug her fist into the table, and Annabeth heard a few small cracks.

“If we can find who made the barrier, we could talk to them and ask them to let us through,” Nico began. “Do we know who the trapper is?”

“A Titan. Can't remember if he likes demigods or not,” Dionysus replied. A smile came to his face. “I believe that I win.”

“Great,” Hylla said. She threw her cards down onto the table. Dionysus glared at the cards. “Now, can we get back to the conversation about trying to find my sister?”

“That's a winning hand,” Dionysus said. He glared at the cards and looked like he was getting ready to sulk.

“I really don't care if I won or not. I just want to help my sister,” Hylla said. She sounded like she was getting ready to yell. Annabeth gently grabbed her arm.

"What kind of world do we live in when young people do not care about winning Pinochle?" Dionysus asked himself. He sighed and looked directly at Hylla. "You should always care about a winning hand, especially if you do not realize you have one."

“That's really helpful,” Hylla muttered. She stood and stormed away. Annabeth stood and followed her.

“Maybe, we could go back to where the van was wrecked. The trapper might have gone there, especially if monsters were attracted to the wreck,” Nico said. He fell in step with them. Annabeth glanced at Hylla, and the queen of the Amazons was just staring at the ground. She seemed lost in her own world.

“What are you thinking?” Annabeth asked quietly.

“That we need to find Reyna. We owe it to her and Hedge,” Hylla muttered. She quickened her pace, and they walked until they made it to the beach. Hylla slowly sat on the stand and stared up at the darkened sky. “Reyna loves the rain.”

“Reyna is going to be fine,” Annabeth promised. Nico stood to the side awkwardly and watched them. Hylla closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Am I interrupting something?” a voice asked. It was full of hatred. Hylla's eyes snapped open, and she slowly turned to look at the Iris message behind her. Annabeth turned as well. She stared at the cruel looking woman. From the look on Hylla's face, it had to be Doris.

“What do you want?” Hylla growled. She clenched her fist and took a single step forward. Doris laughed, but her eyes moved around nervously.

“What do I want? My queen, I desire nothing else other than your complete and utter attention,” Doris said. A smirk came to her face. Annabeth glanced at Hylla.

“I am not in the mood for your insane ranting,” Hylla snapped. She raised her hand to run it through the Iris message.

“I thought you would want to see your sister,” Doris said. Hylla froze. Annabeth stared at the Iris message. Doris seemed to take in their reactions. Then, she pulled Reyna to her feet.

“Don't listen to her,” Reyna wheezed. Her face was bloodied and bruised, and she was clearly in pain. Doris sneered and slammed Reyna into a tree. Reyna's head bounced off of it, and she collapsed to the ground.

“Let my sister go!” Hylla snapped. Despite how angry she looked, Annabeth could see that Hylla's hands were shaking. As Annabeth looked at Reyna, she felt a twist in her gut. The praetor wasn't in a good shape

“I think I would rather kill her,” Doris taunted. Reyna's eyes flickered up towards the Iris message. She finally looked at the ground and pressed her face against it. Reyna looked ready to pass out.

“Doris, don't do this,” Hylla said quickly. The fear and desperation was clear in her eyes. “If you let my sister go, you can walk away freely. I won't try to find you.”

“Oh shut up Hylla. It is your fault that my sister was killed. Your pride and cockiness cost me everything,” Doris spat. Hylla glared at her. She was shaking in anger. “I think it is time for revenge.”

“Do not lay a hand on my sister!” Hylla snapped. Doris watched Hylla for a few moments. A cruel grin came to her face. Then, Doris turned and kicked Reyna right in the face.

“I didn't lay a hand on her,” Doris taunted. She stared down at Reyna and glared. Reyna slowly turned on her back and placed both hands to her face.

“I am going to kill you,” Hylla promised. Doris smirked, but the smirk was quickly lost. She seemed to look past the Iris message.

“Vera?” Doris asked. She took a step backwards and started to move a hand behind her back. Another woman, presumably Vera, stepped into the view of the Iris message. Vera looked down at Reyna. “I did not see you in the chaos. I thought that you had died.”

“I see you found the prisoner,” Vera said. She walked towards Reyna and stepped in between her and Doris. After a moment, Reyna slowly sat up and started to scoot backwards.

“Vera, you cannot allow Doris to do this. You know how insane she is, and my sister is innocent,” Hylla said. Annabeth wanted to reach out and grab Hylla's arm, but she knew that she couldn't have Hylla show anymore signs of weakness.

“We planned on removing you from power. The death of your sister would have set everything in motion. Instead, it has ruined everything. Queen Hylla, I am sorry for plotting against you. Please forgive me,” Vera said. She grabbed her swung and turned already swinging it. Doris barely jumped out of the way.

“Traitor!” Doris snapped. She backed away and grabbed her own sword. Vera glanced back at Reyna and then focused on Doris.

“You had the chance to save Kallie, but you didn't,” Vera snapped. She stepped protectively in front of Reyna.

“So be it,” Doris muttered. She looked back at the Iris message and raised her sword. “Enjoy the last view of you sister.”

Vera attacked, and Doris dodged. Then, she ran her sword through the Iris message. Annabeth slowly looked at Hylla. The queen of the Amazons was staring at where the Iris message had been, but she seemed strangely calm.

“Are you okay?” Annabeth asked quietly. After a moment, Hylla looked at Annabeth and seemed to think about it.

“I'm fine,” Hylla finally answered. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “When I find Doris, I am going to murder that bitch.”


	12. Facta, Non Verba

Annabeth slowly looked at her two companions. Nico was leaning on a tree and looked tired from shadow traveling. He refused to rest though. Annabeth gave him a gentle smile and then looked at Hylla.

“I'm sorry it came to this, Kallie. Rest now,” Hylla whispered. She was kneeling next to one of the dead rogue Amazons. Hylla sighed and slowly stood. She walked towards them. “Can you walk?”

“I'll be fine,” Nico promised. He slowly stood up straight. Hylla nodded and looked up at the sky. The three had shadow traveled to where Nico found the overturned van, hoping to find some kind of lead. Reyna wasn't in a good shape, and she was running out of time.

“Do you have a plan?” Annabeth asked Hylla. After a few moments, Hylla nodded. “What is it?”

“I am going to jog until I run into a wall of air,” Hylla responded. Annabeth wanted to tell Hylla that her plan wasn't really a plan, but she didn't want to upset her further. “You two can stay here.”

“No way,” Nico said. “Reyna is our friend. We're going to help, even if I have to beat you in a race.”

“Race,” Hylla repeated. She glared at Nico. “There's no way you could beat me.”

A smile almost came to Annabeth's face as Nico took off running. Hylla chased behind him and easily overtook him. Annabeth knew that it didn't matter who won. Nico was just doing his best to distract Hylla from their current situation. Annabeth followed behind the two.

When Hylla seemingly felt like she had put enough distance between herself and Nico, she stopped running and looked back at them. Nico made it to her side, followed by Annabeth.

“Thanks,” Hylla muttered. She looked at Nico and started walking in a random direction. “Don't do it again though.”

Nico glanced at Annabeth, and there was the hint of a smile on his face. The small distraction was a nice reprieve from their current situation, but reality would soon hit them. They didn't know where to go or what to do. It would still be good to keep Hylla distracted and calm.

“So, how is it being queen of the Amazons?” Annabeth asked. Hylla looked back at her.

“It's great,” Hylla answered. “It's always nice to have men feed me grapes while I sit on my throne. But, it can be challenging at times. You always have to be the strongest person there, and the other Amazons are always watching for weaknesses.”

“When Kinzie was alive,” Hylla began. She stopped walking, and her gaze grew distant for a moment. She looked down and shook her head. “There isn't anyone in the Amazons who doesn't want my power. Not anymore.”

It seemed like Annabeth needed to steer the conversation away from that as well. She spoke, “How do you think they are doing with decorations?”

“I'm sure Piper won't let it be a horrible mess,” Nico answered. “Did they set a timer for the cake?”

“Probably not,” Annabeth said. She nodded slightly. “Do you think they will burn the cake?”

“Can you burn a cake?” Hylla interrupted. “It seems like it would just dry up.”

“If Piper wasn't there, I would think that the boys would end up catching the cake on fire as they tried mixing the ingredients,” Nico commented. A smirk came to Hylla's face, but her fingers were tapping against her thigh. She looked nervous.

“They're not the bad,” Annabeth said to Nico. Then, she looked at Hylla. “I know you're worried about Reyna. What do you think Doris is going to do?”

“Kill Reyna,” Hylla muttered. Annabeth looked away and nodded. “Doris wants revenge though. She will make sure I can watch it happen. I can't let her kill Reyna. I won't.”

“We won't let her,” Annabeth promised. Their walk became one of silence. She almost wished they listened to Nico's suggestion of finding Hedge, but Hylla immediately shut it down. She said it would take too much time, but Annabeth was sure that Hylla just found Hedge annoying. Annabeth tried to argue that Hedge could tell them where Reyna was, but Hylla had looked her dead in the eye and told her that she could find Reyna.

"Do we have a plan for when we reach where our path is being blocked?" Annabeth asked.

“Slam into it,” Hylla answered. Annabeth gave her a look. For a daughter of a war goddess, Hylla wasn't thinking with her head.

“I don't think that will work,” Nico said. Hylla shrugged and suddenly stumbled backwards. Annabeth stopped walking, and a frown came to her face. She slowly reached out, and it felt like her hand was brushing against a wall. “Does running into it seem like a good idea now?”

“What about throwing an annoying boy into it?” Hylla asked. Nico glared at her. Annabeth studied the wall in front of her. If she looked closely, it seemed like the air was swirling around so quickly that it made a solid wall. “Why is this even here?”

“I created this to keep monsters in,” a voice said. Annabeth whirled around and stared at the shadows. She could see the faint outline of a man, even if she couldn't see his features. The figure studied them.

“Keep monsters in?” Annabeth asked. She took a step backwards and tried to figure out who this mysterious figure was. Annabeth knew he was a Titan, but which one? “Why?”

“There was an influx of monsters that came to this area, when a daughter of Bellona used a cell phone in the middle of the forest,” the Titan answered. His gaze focused on Hylla. “I am sure that you all know cell phones act like a beacon for monsters. I set this perimeter, so no monsters could get out.”

“And, nothing can get in,” Hylla muttered. She crossed her arms.

“Not even the queen of the Amazons,” the Titan commented. “What is the queen of the Amazons doing out here anyway?”

“Wait. Lelantos? Is that you?” Nico asked. The air seemed to shift, as if the Titan was nodding. Annabeth glanced at Nico in confusion. “Lelantos helped me out around a year ago. Why did Zeus put you in charge of the traps though?”

“It was either to become Zeus' trapper or endure some other kind of punishment,” Lelantos answered. The air suddenly sighed, and the wall of air seemed to stop. Annabeth felt a gentle breeze move past her face and towards Lelantos.

Annabeth could see the Titan more clearly now, but he wore a cloak that obscured most of his features. There was an amused look in his brown eyes. The cloak seemed to blend in with the shadows.

“Are we allowed to go through? “Hylla slowly asked. Lelantos nodded and seemed to study Hylla.

“If you sister survives, send her my thanks for her tribute,” Lelantos said. Before any of them could ask for an explanation, Lelantos faded into the shadows.

“Guys, we should hurry,” Nico said. Hylla nodded and took off into a jog. Annabeth followed behind her. Nico swore under his breath and followed them. Even though they still didn't know where to go, Hylla jogged like a woman possessed.

They jogged for a minute, but Hylla came to a sudden stop. She ducked behind a tree and tried to control her breathing. Annabeth stopped by her peeked out from the tree. Her eyes slowly took in the situation in front of her.

“Do not say another word,” Doris spat. Annabeth saw a puddle of blood on the ground, and there was another girl laying in the puddle. A younger girl was kneeling to her and seemed to be trying to stop the bleeding.

“The one bleeding to death is Vera. The other is Candice,” Hylla whispered. Her eyes slowly moved, and she visibly tensed. Annabeth followed her gaze, and her eyes widened. Doris walked towards another figure that was on the ground, and it took her a few moments to realize it was Reyna.

Reyna was laying on her side and staring down at her knee. A sword had been stabbed into her knee and into the ground, trapping her leg. One of her hands gripped her pant leg above her knee, and that hand was covered in blood.

Hylla started to shake in rage. Her hand gripped her knife, and she turned her attention towards Doris. Hylla spoke in a whisper, “I will handle Doris and take care of Reyna. You two check on Candice and Vera.”

Annabeth nodded. She watched Doris flip a golden drachmae in her hand. There was a cruel smile on her face. Doris spoke, “I think it is finally time we sent an Iris message to your sister and put an end to this.”

Reyna muttered something in another language, and Doris grabbed the sword that was buried in Reyna's knee. Hylla stepped into the clearing and spoke, “You could just talk to her in person.”


	13. De Asini Umbra Disceptare

All Reyna could do was stare at the dissipated Iris message. She could still remember the look of calmness on Hylla's face. It was the same look that Hylla had when Reyna insisted they part ways. She also had that look when she faced down the pirates and got the scar on her head. The look meant Hylla was going to kill someone.

“I don't want to fight you Doris. Just walk away,” Vera said. She circled around Doris and seemed reluctant to attack her.

“You sealed your fate by defending the praetor. I can try to end it quickly for you though,” Doris sneered. She did not hesitate to attack Vera.

There wasn't much Reyna could do besides watch the fight. Doris and Vera seemed to be evenly matched in skill, and it was clear that they had sparred together many times before. They were matched for a minute or two, until bad luck struck.

Vera had stepped backwards after blocking an attack. Her foot slipped on a tree branch and fell backwards. Doris wasted no time in pinning Vera to the ground and placing her sword to Vera's neck.

Reyna wanted to help, but her knee refused to supper her weight. Her head ached miserably, and she probably had a concussion. If Reyna moved to quickly, she would see double of everything. She hated Doris more and more with each passing second.

“Why would you betray me?” Doris demanded. “We are so close to our goal. Why are you faltering now?”

“You think that I betrayed you?” Vera asked. Despite her position, she laughed. “You stabbed Lulu in the back! You were using our beliefs for your own selfish desires. The praetor already told me everything!”

“Vera, we can still work together,” Doris said. “We have been friends for so long. Do not throw that away because of this stupid Roman.”

“I let my loyalty to you blind me. I should have seen how poorly put together all of your plans were, and you probably have tried making this up as you went along,” Vera snapped. “You're insane.”

Reyna took a deep breath and tried to stand. Her knee instantly burned in pain, and her head ached as well. Reyna placed both hands to her head and tried to ignore the aching.

“Do not throw away everything that we have done,” Doris pleaded. She stood and grabbed Vera's fallen sword. “Please. We are so close to our goal.”

“Our goal or your goal?” Vera snapped. “You've been slipping, ever since your sister died. I don't know how you managed to drag me into this situation. Your sanity is going away, Doris. Let Candice and I help you get it back.”

“Have you ever heard of the phrase an eye for an eye?” Doris asked. She lowered her sword. “It is Hylla's fault that my sister died. My sister's blood must be repaid in the blood of Hylla's sister. It is only fair.”

Vera didn't say a word. Doris stepped backwards and spoke, “My mother is all about revenge, and this is a matter of vengeance. You may not like the fact that I am targeting Hylla's sister, but you cannot deny that it will accomplish our goal of crippling the false queen.”

“Your mother isn't just about revenge,” Vera said. She slowly stood. “She is about balance.”

“I am bringing balance by righting a wrong,” Doris said. Her gaze stayed focused on Reyna. The only thing Reyna could do was stare ahead and try not to show any fear. She just hoped that Vera wouldn't change her mind about sparring her.

“You are unbalanced!” Vera snapped. “You can't even begin to balance any kind of wrong in your current state.”

“How am I unbalanced?” Doris demanded. Vera slowly circled around her, until she was standing between Doris and Reyna. Vera's hand moved behind her, and Reyna saw the flash of the dagger. As Doris ran a hand down her face, Vera tossed the dagger towards Reyna.

Reyna barely caught the dagger and cradled it to hide it from sight. Doris looked at them and spoke, “I have only seemed off of my game because I am so focused on our mission. The false queen must be removed, and we can have our revenge. Wait. Where is Candice?”

“She's safe, but I left her alone to find you,” Vera answered. Doris walked towards Vera and pushed past her. She made it to Reyna's side and grabbed her arm. Reyna gripped the dagger and debated just slitting Doris' throat then and there.

Vera looked back and gave Reyna a look. There was hesitation in her eyes, and Reyna's gut twisted. Doris took a few steps backwards and spoke, “Can you walk, praetor. Or, do I have to drag you by the collar?”

“We should just leave her here,” Vera said. Reyna looked down and realized what was going on. Even if Vera had her weapon, she wouldn't attack Doris. She could not hurt her friend, but she had given Reyna a chance to escape. “She can't walk.”

“That is true,” Doris said softly. She sheathed her sword with one hand. The other hand gripped Vera's sword. Reyna gritted her teeth, and Doris turned towards her.

“Are you going to be a good little praetor if I leave you here?” Doris sneered.

“Rot in Tartarus,” Reyna. The hilt of a sword slammed into her face, and Doris kicked her down. Reyna placed one hand to her face, and Doris kicked her right in the knee.

“Just lay there like a good little praetor,” Doris sneered. Reyna gritted her teeth and took deep breaths. Doris watched her for a moment and then turned towards Vera. She led her away.

Reyna knew that Vera had given her the opportunity to run and a weapon to defend herself with. She couldn't stand though, let alone walk. Reyna slowly rolled onto her back and slipped the dagger into her belt. She placed both hands to her face and watched the rain fall from the sky.

Reyna needed a plan. She needed a course of action, but she didn't know where to go. Reyna slowly sat up and scooted towards the tree. She had to kill Doris. That was the only way to guarantee her safety.

Her mind was running at half speed, and she could not think of a plan. Reyna tried to focus, but the aching of her head made it impossible. Before Reyna could fully get her bearings, she heard a branch snap. A soft curse escaped her. It didn't feel that long, but she knew minutes had passed.

“Let's get this over with, so we can go,” Vera said. Upon seeing Reyna, a frown came to her face. Vera was carrying an unconscious Candice in her arms. Vera's face seemed to be yelling at Reyna, demanding why she hadn't left yet.

“We will soon,” Doris promised. “Can you lay Candice down, and we'll finish this.”

Vera nodded and turned away. She laid Candice down and brushed hair out of her face. Doris followed behind and gripped her sword. Reyna realized what was going to happen, but she was too slow to call out.

As Vera stood and turned around, Doris stabbed her in the gut. Vera gasped and slowly looked down at the sword buried in her gut. Doris kicked Vera off of the blade. Then, she turned towards Reyna. All Reyna could do was move so quickly that she saw double, and she threw the dagger.

The throw should have been perfect and hit Doris right in the forehead. The only problem was that her seeing double caused her to aim for the wrong Doris. As the dagger flew by Doris' head, a grin came to her face.

“Are you having trouble seeing correctly?” Doris sneered. She walked toward Reyna and pinned her to the ground. Doris raised her sword and grinned.

“Doris, what are you doing?” a small voice asked. Doris froze and slowly turned around. A wide eyed Candice was staring at her. Candice slowly looked at Vera and then the blood on Doris. Terror covered her face.

“Candice, this is not what it looks like,” Doris said. She stood and turned towards the younger girl. Reyna didn't know if Doris was going to kill Candice, but she couldn't take the chance. Reyna forced herself to stand and slam directly into Doris.

They both hit the ground, and the sword flew from Doris' hand. Reyna wrapped one arm around Doris' neck and started to choke her. Ideally, she wanted to snap the other girl's neck, but she didn't have the strength. Reyna spoke, “There should be nectar in Vera's backpack. Give it to her.”

Candice stared but finally rushed to Vera's side. Reyna tried to tighten her grip on Doris's neck. Her grip wasn't strong enough to keep a constant pressure that would cut off Doris' oxygen, but she had to bide time. Doris spoke, “I am not dying like this.”

“You deserve worse than this,” Reyna snapped. Doris crawled forward and reached her hand out. Reyna tried to stop Doris' arm, but she felt a dagger stab into her knee. Reyna yelled and let go of Doris. There wasn't anything she could do as she was pinned once again.

“You stupid bitch,” Doris gasped. She coughed and tried to breath. Then, she punched Reyna across the face.

“Doris, stop!” Candice cried. She took a step forward.

“I want you to stay out of this,” Doris snapped. Candice stared at her and then slowly looked down at Vera.

“I cannot wait to kill you,” Doris spat. Reyna glared up at her and tried to struggle. Doris grabbed the dagger from her and pulled it out. She threw it to the side and slowly stood. Doris grabbed her sword and looked at Candice.

“Is Vera dead?” Doris asked, but she didn't sound very concerned. Reyna slowly tried to reach out for the dagger.

“Vera needs help, Doris. She can't last much longer,” Candice answered. Doris grinned and moved back towards Reyna. “We have to help her!”

“I don't have to do anything,” Doris spat. She stepped on Reyna's lower leg. Reyna bit back a curse and slowly looked at Vera, who wasn't moving.

“You're insane,” Reyna hissed. She tried to reach out for the dagger again, but Doris kicked it away.

“I wonder if you'll ever be able to walk again,” Doris sneered. She placed her sword to Reyna's knee. Then, she stabbed it downwards and into Reyna's knee. A soft noise of pain, almost like a whimper, escaped Reyna. She didn't have the strength to fight anymore, and there was no way out of her predicament.

“Doris. Stop hurting her,” Candice pleaded. Reyna wanted to tell the young girl to run, but she didn't have the strength. Death felt like it was only seconds away.

“Shut up!” Doris yelled. She sneered at Candice. “Keep your mouth shut, and maybe, I'll let you live.”

Reyna stared at the ground and couldn't move. She watched Doris flip a golden drachmae in her hands. Doris grabbed the handle of the sword that was stabbed into Reyna's knee, and a soft curse left Reyna.

“I think it is finally time we sent an Iris message to your sister and put an end to this,” Doris sneered. Reyna didn't respond. She just stared up at the rogue Amazon.

“You could just talk to her in person,” Hylla growled. Reyna stared at her sister. She felt relief rush through her, but Doris hissed in anger. She twisted the sword, and Reyna yelled in pain. Her world faded for a few moments, and all she could do was hope that Hylla would be able to handle Doris.


	14. Day of Reckoning

Hylla enjoyed the look of surprise on Doris' face, until Doris twisted the sword. Reyna yelled in pain and laid her head on the ground. Her eyes seemed to grow distant, almost like the pain had taken her away from the current situation.

Annabeth and Nico hurried to Vera's side. Vera was pale, and Hylla doubted that she would make it. Candice was watching in pure horror. Hylla looked at her sister and then pushed all of the worry out of her mind. She focused on Doris.

Doris was looking around with a panic in her eyes. She was an opportunist and always needed the advantage in a fight. Hylla spoke, “You can back down now, Doris.”

“No,” Doris snapped. She suddenly pulled a phone from her pocket and held it out with a shaking hand. “I think your sister remembers this. She used the same tactic on us. If you take another step forward, I'll make a call that will bring all kinds of monsters here.”

“I'm not scared of a phone,” Hylla stated.

“How would you protect everyone here?” Doris wondered. “Your two friends will be preoccupied with Vera and Candice. The monsters will keep you distracted while I slit your sister's throat.”

“Nico, can you shadow travel the four of you out of here?” Hylla asked. She already knew her plan of action. Hylla knew this would be the last time that Nico could shadow travel. As Nico met her eyes, she nodded to him.

“That would leave you one down,” Doris taunted. Hylla ignored her.

“Get them to Camp Half-Blood,” Hylla ordered. Nico nodded and started to grab Annabeth's arm.

“Hylla, think about this,” Annabeth began.

"Doris only wants me and Reyna. Vera needs immediate help. Go," Hylla said. Annabeth looked down but grabbed Nico's hand. She placed her other hand on Candice's shoulder. Nico shifted into the shadows as he placed a hand on Vera's shoulder. The four were consumed by the shadows.

Hylla looked past Doris and focused on her sister. Reyna was slowly reaching out for a dagger. There was blood covering the dagger, and Hylla didn't have to guess who it belonged to. She just really hoped that Reyna could hold on long enough to get help.

“That was stupid of you, Queen Hylla,” Doris taunted. There was was a smirk on her face. “Your two friends left you. Your poor little sister is in no shape to fight. What are you going to do?”

“We're an even match,” Hylla stated. She almost laughed at the words. “Well, we would be if you were better at fighting and not a coward.”

“You can call me a coward, but I am a genius,” Doris taunted. She held the phone up once again and seemed ready to dial a number. Hylla gripped her knife and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.

“Doris,” Hylla warned, trying to buy time. If she was fast enough, she could throw a knife at the phone and then Doris. It would be perfect.

“You can try getting on your knees,” Doris said. She hummed softly and gently placed her thumb to the phone.

“You wanted revenge on me. That is why you went through all of this. If you want revenge so badly, I am standing right here. Fight me,” Hylla challenged.

“Are you trying to bait me?” Doris asked. Hylla started to raise her knife. “I am not a fool.”

The phone suddenly flew from Doris' hand. There was a dagger buried into the back of it. Hylla smirked and stepped forward. She focused on Reyna.

“I was aiming for your head,” Reyna muttered. She tried to make it to a sitting position, but pain appeared on her face. Doris looked back and forth between the two daughters of Bellona. There was a desperate look on her face.

“I planned everything out so perfectly. This isn't right,” Doris screeched. She focused on Reyna and then Hylla. “I may die, Queen Hylla, but I am going to take your sister with me.”

Doris turned and lunged downwards with her sword. Reyna threw her cape over herself. As Doris' sword hit the cape, the blade shattered. Doris stumbled backwards in surprise.

Hylla closed the distance in between the two with impossible speed. She turned Doris around and stabbed her knife right into the stomach of the traitor. Doris slowly looked down at the knife handle. Then, she looked at Hylla hatefully.

“You deserve so much worse. First, you attacked a praetor of New Rome. After that, you killed two of your fellow sisters and attempted to murder two more. It is not my place to judge you though,” Hylla said. “That job belongs to the Underworld.”

“Weak. Just like your sister,” Doris snapped.

“Reyna's not weak,” Hylla said tiredly. She pulled the knife out of Doris' stomach. Then, she tore it through Doris' throat. The rogue Amazon fell to the ground, and Hylla stabbed her directly in the heart. She twisted the knife for good measure and then pulled her knife out.

Hylla stepped over Doris' body and walked towards Reyna. Her little sister was staring up at the sky and blinking rapidly. Both hands gripped her knee, and her face was pale. Hylla knelt next to Reyna.

“Hey,” Reyna mumbled. She tried to sit up, and Hylla gently helped her. Reyna leaned on her tiredly. Hylla examined Reyna's leg and felt sick to her stomach. “It's not bleeding anymore.”

“How did you manage to get hurt so badly?” Hylla whispered. Reyna mumbled something incoherent that sounded like a mix between Spanish and Latin. “Don't pass out on me. Just stay awake.”

“I'm fine,” Reyna mumbled. Hylla tried to use the rain to wipe away some of the blood from Reyna's face. Reyna winced as Hylla's fingers ran across her nose. “How bad am I?”

“Very,” Hylla admitted. She rested her thumbs near Reyna's nose. “Your nose is crooked.”

“It was worse earlier,” Reyna said. Hylla nodded and studied her.

“Tell me what happened,” Hylla whispered. She regretted rushing out with no first aid kit. Reyna quietly started to tell Hylla what had happened. Before she could get too far into her story, Hylla moved Reyna's nose back to its correct alignment.

“Ow! Hylla!” Reyna complained. She gave Hylla a look of betrayal.

“Just continue. I promise I won't mess with your nose anymore,” Hylla said. She gently cleaned the blood from Reyna's face as Reyna told her story. While Reyna spoke, Hylla tried to keep her face emotionless. While it looked like she didn't care, she just knew that she had to be calm, cool, and collected, especially with the shape that her sister was in.

“Why were you with Annabeth and Nico?” Reyna asked quietly. Hylla gently grabbed the sword that was buried in Reyna's knee. This was going to be the tricky part.

“I sensed that you were in danger and sent them a message. They told me that you were delivering weapons to Camp Half-Blood, so I went there for help,” Hylla lied. She met Reyna's eyes, and her sister nodded. Hylla gently lifted the sword out of the ground, without removing the sword from Reyna's knee.

“You can't lose anymore blood,” Hylla whispered. She gently wrapped Reyna's arm around her shoulder and picked her up. Reyna let out a weak cry as her knee jolted. “I'm sorry. I don't want to remove the sword right now.”

Reyna nodded and then buried her head in Hylla's chest. Her shoulder shook weakly as she cried softly, but she quickly composed herself. Hylla held Reyna as close as she could and started to walk. Hylla whispered in her ear, “You're safe now. I promise.”

“I know,” Reyna whispered softly. She relaxed against Hylla.

“Hey. You can't fall asleep on me,” Hylla whispered. “Is Camp Half-Blood far?”

“It should only be a couple of miles that way,” Reyna mumbled. She didn't look up, but she did point. A small smile came to Hylla's face.

“Are you sure?” Hylla asked. She carefully stepped over a tree branch. The walk to Camp Half-Blood would be a long one, but hopefully, the demigods would meet her halfway.

“Could be that way too,” Reyna mumbled, and she ended up pointing in the same direction as before. Hylla smiled and kissed the top of her sister's head.

“Happy birthday Reyna,” Hylla said. Reyna mumbled something that resembled a thanks. Her eyes started to drift close. Hylla adjusted her grip enough to feel Reyna's pulse, and it was much stronger than she anticipated.

A smile came to Hylla's face. Reyna wasn't in the best shape, but they would get to Camp Half-Blood soon enough. Hylla would hand Reyna off to a child of Apollo, check on Vera, decide the fate of the rogue Amazon, and then make sure the party was still on. After what had happened, Reyna needed the break.


	15. Won the War Lost the Peace

Reyna woke to the smell of food. She had been drifting in and out of consciousness and vaguely remembered people checking in on her. It felt like she had been sleeping for days, but it could have only been a hour or two at the most.

The smell of food caused Reyna to moan softly. She hadn't ate breakfast that morning because she had been so focused on leaving as soon as possible. Reyna opened her eyes and felt someone gently lay a plate on her chest.

“That was pretty sad,” Hylla commented. Reyna slowly looked at her older sister. There was relief in Hylla's eyes as she stared down at Reyna.

“What time is it?” Reyna asked. She managed to slowly sit up, and Hylla handed her water. Reyna drank some of it and focused on eating her food. Reyna glanced down and saw that her knee was covered in bandages.

“It's seven,” Hylla answered quietly. She studied Reyna quietly.

“I'm fine,” Reyna said, and a small smile came to her face. “How bad am I?”

“The Apollo kid, Will, healed you as much as he could. You lost a lot of blood and made things a lot worse than they needed to be,” Hylla said. Reyna's smile grew. “Your knee is going to take some time to heal, and you have a concussion. No walking for a few days.”

Reyna nodded and focused on eating her food. Hylla spoke, “You missed the fight between the Ares and Aphrodite cabin. I guess their godly parents had some kind of disagreement. It broke down into a small skirmish, and a few monsters got summoned.”

“Really?” Reyna asked. Hylla nodded. Reyna raised an eyebrow and instantly winced in pain.

“Will stitched the cut for you. It will scar and not look as good as mine, so stop moving your eyebrow,” Hylla said. She pointed towards the scar on her own forehead. Reyna rolled her eyes. “Finish eating so we can get going.”

“Go where?” Reyna asked. She slowly sat up and glanced down at herself. She was wearing black shorts and an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. Reyna frowned.

“You look good,” Hylla commented. She leaned back in her seat. Reyna stared down at the shirt. It just felt wrong. “Thanks for pulling me away from Will earlier.”

Reyna nodded slightly and focused on her food. She vaguely remembered asking Hylla to help her change. Reyna knew that Will had been lecturing Hylla, but she had no clue what the lecture was about. While Reyna really didn't care, she knew that she had to pull the two of them apart.

“Where did my armor and cape go?” Reyna slowly asked.

“The Hephaestus cabin offered to fix your armor for you,” Hylla said. Reyna frowned. “Your precious cape is in a backpack full of supplies that Will gave me. I know how attached you are to that thing.”

“It's not often that someone gets a blessing from Minerva,” Reyna commented. She finished her plate and slowly placed it on the table. Reyna laid back on the bed and sighed tiredly. Sleep sounded nice, but she would sleep when she was back at Camp Jupiter.

“Nico said he should have enough energy to shadow travel us back to Camp Jupiter, with some help from Hazel. Annabeth wanted to come and make sure that you're comfortable,” Hylla said. Reyna nodded and closed her eyes for a few moments.

“Is Candice okay? And Vera?” Reyna asked. She opened her eyes and glanced at her sister. There was a scowl on Hylla's face.

“Candice was was a little banged up and scared, but she's fine. Vera barely made it, but she's alive,” Hylla said. Reyna nodded and tried to read her sister's expression. “She had this really long apology that ended with her asking if she could back to the Amazons.”

“What did you tell her?” Reyna questioned. She glanced down at the orange shirt again.

“I allowed her to,” Hylla said. She sighed and rubbed her forehead like she had a headache. “Vera understands that she is on probation though. Candice is welcome back as well. I know she was being manipulated. I'm sure she wants to talk to you soon, but she's taking a tour of the camp with Annabeth.”

Reyna nodded and glanced down at the shirt again. Hylla spoke, “Something wrong?”

“It's just weird,” Reyna commented. “We are daughters of Bellona. Our mother is a Roman goddess with no Greek equivalent. It almost feels wrong to be here.”

Hylla looked at her and raised an eyebrow. It almost seemed to be a mocking gesture, but Reyna ignored it. She looked down and spoke, “I guess it's just the blood loss and lack of sleep talking. Forget it.”

“We're all demigods. There's nothing weird about that,” Hylla finally said. “Besides, I'm an Amazon. You're the Roman one.”

Reyna quickly looked away. She slowly spoke, “We're both Romans, Hylla.”

“Our mother may be a Roman goddess, but that doesn't make us Romans,” Hylla said. Reyna glared at the ground. This was the same argument that she had with her sister five years ago. It brought Reyna back to that moment, and she scowled. “Really, Reyna? We've been over this. I'm an Amazon.”

“They are a group,” Reyna countered. She felt like she was twelve years old again trying to convince Hylla that they needed to go to Camp Jupiter together. Hylla insisted they needed to go to the Amazons. All Reyna wanted in that moment was a purpose, and that desire for a purpose caused her to split from her sister.

“Romans are a group too. That's why you dress up in togas,” Hylla said. Reyna clenched her fist. When it came to her sister, she always had terrible anger issues. They always seemed to argue, and it was always over the stupidest things. It also circled back to the day they parted ways.

“You're missing the point,” Reyna snapped. “You always miss the point. We are Romans, Hylla. That is why the two of us should have went to the Wolf House.”

“So I could fight your battles for you?” Hylla asked. Reyna stared at her sister. “When we parted ways, you were a scared little girl who couldn't fend for herself. You were actually able to hold out today long enough for me to rescue you.”

“If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have needed the rescue,” Reyna said. The almost smug smile on Hylla's face disappeared, and she glared. Hylla tensed and sat forward. They both heard a knock on the door, and Annabeth stepped into the room.

Hylla stood and stormed out of the room. Reyna sighed angrily and closed her eyes. Annabeth slowly spoke, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Reyna muttered. She heard Annabeth sit next to her. It took a moment for Reyna to open her eyes.

“Orange is a nice color,” Annabeth said awkwardly. She seemed to be trying to figure out why Reyna was upset.

“I like purple better,” Reyna muttered. She sighed and laid her head back. Why had she started an argument with Hylla? Why had she said those things? “I'm an idiot.”

“What happened?” Annabeth asked quietly. She sat near the edge of the bed. Reyna shook her head. She just wanted to shut down her emotions and not say a word, but a look at Annabeth told her that wouldn't be wise.

“I got into a stupid argument with Hylla. I'm just angry, stressed, and in pain,” Reyna muttered. She looked at the bed. “I'm an idiot for arguing with her.”

“That doesn't make you an idiot. It just makes you human,” Annabeth said. She grabbed Reyna's arm gently. “Just apologize to her.”

“Yeah,” Reyna muttered. They both heard a knock, and Nico stepped into the room. Reyna looked at him and then looked back down.

“Are we ready to go?” Nico asked. He seemed to be having a silent conversation with Annabeth. Were they both judging her for what she had said? Reyna glared and looked down.

“As soon as Hylla gets back,” Annabeth answered. Nico nodded. He walked towards Reyna and gently nudged her. Reyna forced a small smile to come to her face. While she wouldn't say it out loud, Reyna felt totally alone in that moment.


	16. Many Happy Returns

“Why are you playing poker?” Piper demanded. She stared down at Leo. For added effect, she crossed her arms and started to tap her foot. The boys were all sitting around a table as they played their card game. They used jelly beans as a way for betting.

“Hey. We finished decorating, and I saved the cake. I believe that we earned a break,” Leo said.

“You should relax,” Jason said. He stood and started to lead Piper towards a chair. Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Haze give her a look.

“What did Annabeth say in the Iris message?” Percy asked. He put down his cards. Everyone turned their attention to Piper.

“Reyna's hurt, but she'll be fine. They're be here soon,” Piper answered. She saw relief on the faces of everyone. “There was also an incident between some of the children of Ares and Aphrodite. Some monsters got summoned.”

“Why are they fighting? I thought your mom and Ares were in love,” Leo said with a teasing smile. Piper shrugged and leaned on Jason. She glared as he picked his cards back up.

“I left you teenagers alone for five minutes, and now, you're gambling. Didn't anyone teach you that gambling is wrong?” Hedge lectured as he walked towards them. He sat in the free chair and looked at the demigods. “Who is going to deal me in?”

“Hey Coach, how come you were able to create the empathy link and then break it so easily?” Percy asked. “Grover told me it takes a lot of effort.”

“I am older than your friend, Grover. All I need is some peace and quiet, and the empathy link is a breeze,” Hedge said. Piper doubted it was that easy, but Hedge sounded confident enough.

They heard the door open, and Piper quickly whirled around. She relaxed upon seeing Annabeth walk in guiding Nico. Annabeth helped Nico sit down. Then, she carefully looked around the room, as if judging them.

“The decorations looks good,” Annabeth decided. She walking towards Percy and hugged him from behind. Laying her head on Percy's shoulder, Annabeth looked at the others. "Reyna pulled Hylla aside to talk. They should be here soon."

Leo collected the cards and stuffed some of the jelly beans into his mouth. He helped Frank clean off the table. The other quickly made sure that everything was in order.

“We figured out a plan for Reyna's gift. We wanted to include you in it,” Piper said. She moved towards Annabeth's side. Something brushed against Piper, and she looked down at Aurum and Argentum. The two dogs had been repaired by Leo and seemed to be excited about something. As they moved closer to the door, Piper grinned.

“I think that's our cue,” Hazel said. She moved next to Piper and Annabeth. Everyone gathered around and remained quiet. The door opened, and everyone yelled, “Surprise!”

Reyna had stepped into the room and seemed startled. Her hand moved to her sword, but upon seeming to recognize them, she relaxed. Pain appeared on her face, and she glanced at Hylla. Her older sister wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Reyna slowly spoke, “What's going on?”

“A surprise party,” Hylla said. Reyna looked around, and a small blush came to her face, like she was embarrassed. Hylla grinned and led her towards the couch. As Reyna sat down, Aurum and Argentum jumped onto the couch and crashed into Reyna. She smiled and held her dogs close.

“How are you feeling?” Piper asked. She sat near Reyna. It took a moment for Reyna to look at her with pained and unfocused eyes. Piper could guess what the answer was.

“I'm fine,” Reyna said, and she smiled, but it seemed forced. “You guys set up a party while I was gone?”

"We couldn't let our favorite praetor have a birthday without a party," Frank said. He helped Jason carry chairs into the living room. Reyna smiled slightly. She scratched behind Aurum's ears and under Argentum's chin. The two dogs finally jumped off of the couch but stayed close to Reyna's legs.

Reyna looked at Leo for a moment. Leo quickly spoke, “I didn't break anything.”

“I was just going to thank you for repairing my dogs,” Reyna said. “Assuming you were the one who did it.”

"Of course. It wasn't that hard. I also kind of owe you for trying to destroy your city," Leo said. Reyna smiled dryly. Hylla tossed Reyna a party hat. After a moment, the praetor grabbed the party hat and put it on without complaint.

“You guys aren't going to sing, are you?” Reyna asked.

“No,” Annabeth answered. “We were discussing activities, but no one wanted to play trivia with me.”

“You would dominate,” Percy said with a grin on his face.

“We could just ban Annabeth form playing,” Piper suggested. A smirk came to her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hylla and Reyna were watching each other. There seemed to be a tension between the two.

"I say we eat food," Leo suggested. "Reyna can also blow out her candles."

“Let's just eat,” Reyna said softly. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. “You guys don't have to worry about the candles. We can just cut the cake and serve it.”

Piper stood and helped Annabeth cut the cake. They made a plate for Reyna before allowing the horde known as teenage boys to descend upon the food. Piper walked towards Reyna and handed her the plate.

“Thank you for doing this,” Reyna said to all of them. She leaned back against the couch and focused on her food.

"It was all Hylla's idea," Piper said. Reyna nodded but stared at the ground. Piper glanced at Annabeth, and Annabeth mouthed argument.

"I couldn't have you sitting in this house all lonely," Hylla commented as she sat down. She nudged Reyna and whispered something in her ear. Reyna smiled slightly, and Hylla knocked the party hat off of her head. "You looked really ridiculous in that."

"You picked it out," Reyna countered. She leaned on her older sister. Hylla smirked and settled back into the couch. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Piper finished her slice of cake and then looked at Reyna.

"Reyna, do you like the movies?" Piper asked. Reyna looked at her before leaning back on the couch. She rubbed the heads of her dogs. Reyna finally nodded. "Hazel, Annabeth, and I were planning on a having a girl's night. We want to take you out to the movies and get something to eat. Hylla is invited as well, of course.”

"If my little sister doesn't mind, I would like that," Hylla said.

“That would be nice,” Reyna said. She looked down uncomfortably. Piper could see that Reyna wasn't use to receiving gifts.

"What are you girls talking about?" Leo asked with a mouthful of cake. He looked over at the girls who had all crowded around Reyna.

"World domination," Piper replied. She smiled sweetly at him. Leo rolled his eyes, but he did eye them for a moment, like he was worried.

"You guys would be invincible," Nico commented as he stood next to Hazel. "Reyna and Annabeth could take over everything by brains or brawn. Piper can talk down any riots. Hazel is too nice for anyone to realize that something is wrong until you girls have taken over."

"The Amazons have already called dibs on world domination," Hylla interrupted.

"The Romans beat you to it," Jason commented walking towards the group.

"This is a girls only club," Reyna said coldly. She met his eyes and glared. Jason stopped dead in his tracks and stared. Reyna smirked.

"If it is a girls only club, how come Nico is allowed in?" Leo asked.

“I like Nico,” Reyna said, and she shrugged.

“He's also not contaminated like you boys," Hylla added.

"We are men," Percy said. He tried to puff his chest out. Piper rolled her eyes.

"I know what your pajamas look like Percy," Annabeth warned. Percy blushed and looked away.

"May I be allowed to visit the club?" Frank asked with a smile. He walked towards them tossing Reyna an envelope. Reyna caught it and opened it. She pulled out the cards that look like they came from the game Monopoly.

Piper realized that they did come from Monopoly, and Reyna grinned. Piper glanced at the cards and said that they were get out of jail free cards. The words jail had been crossed out and replaced with praetor duties.

"Thank you Frank," Reyna said. She leaned back against the couch and studied the card.

"You should thank Jason too. He came up with the idea. We thought you could use a break," Frank replied. Reyna smiled slightly and thanked both of them.

"I also got you a gift," Leo said standing. He walked towards them pulling out an iPod. With a grin, Leo handed it to Reyna. "Do you remember that conversation we had where you told me you did not listen to a lot of music? I have the solution. There is music from every genre on there."

"Thank you Leo. Any suggestions on what I should listen to first," Reyna asked as she examined the device.

"Shuffle," Leo answered. Reyna smirked and laid the iPod on her lap. Percy walked towards her holding a blue box.

"My gift is not as good as Leo's but I hope you like it," Percy said. He handed her the box. Reyna opened it and looked at the whistle. "I thought you would need a quick way to get in contact with   
Guido."

"Thank you Percy," Reyna mumbled staring at the whistle. She looked overwhelmed by all the gifts. Nico cleared his throat and grabbed the present he had wrapped off the table. He handed it to Reyna.

"I think you will enjoy mine," Nico said with a devious smirk. Reyna regarded him with suspicion. She slowly opened the gift and looked at it. It was a sheathed sword wrapped in a black cloth that Piper recognized as a t-shirt. Reyna unfolded the shirt and examined it.

"Welcome to Albania," Reyna read. She glared at Nico as she blushed. Piper glanced around the room, hoping that someone had an explanation. They all seemed as confused as her.

"What happened in Albania to make Reyna blush like that?" Hazel asked. The others all looked at Nico expectantly. Reyna made a point of unsheathing the sword as loud as possible.

"A silver sword," Reyna commented giving Nico a pointed look. "A sword like this is great for killing werewolves, or demigods."

Aurum and Argentum stared Nico down. The son of Hades shifted before slipping back behind Frank. Reyna sheathed the sword. Piper smiled as she watched the two.

"Thank you Nico. When is your birthday?" Reyna asked. Nico cleared his throat not answering. "That does not matter. I can just make up a date and announce it in front of everyone."

"Remind me never to get on Reyna's bad side," Percy joked.

"All right cupcake, a sword may be nice but what you really need is this," Hedge said. He picked up a club and walked towards Reyna. He handed it to her, and she smirked.

"I say we all take a picture," Leo suggested. He looked weary of the club Reyna was holding.

"Nico can sit next to Reyna," Jason teased. Reyna looked at Nico and patted the space next to her. Nico smirked and sat by her. Hylla moved closer to Reyna and whispered into her ear. They both laughed.

The rest of the demigods and Hedge sat on or around the couch. Leo dragged a chair in front of the couch and taped the camera to it. He pressed a button for the timer and hurried to sit by the others.

Piper grinned at the camera as it took their picture. She turned her head towards Reyna and saw that the praetor was leaning on her older sister. Reyna's eyes seemed to be drifting close, but she looked relaxed and maybe even happy. Piper just hoped that the rest of Reyna's birthday went better than how it began.


	17. Don't Shoot the Messenger

The sound of laughing woke Reyna from her sleep. Her eyes snapped open, and she slowly looked around the room. Her head rested against her sister's shoulder, and she felt relaxed. Someone else laughed, and it was followed by an angry huff.

"I just don't understand why Pluto is no longer a planet. Mars is still a planet," Hazel muttered. She huffed again as she looked at the laptop. The girls had been watching a movie on a laptop that Leo had brought. He originally planned to use the laptop to play music. The idea died quickly when he found out how bad Reyna's concussion was; any loud noise sent a piercing pain through Reyna's skull.

Reyna slowly focused on the laptop. It was paused on a picture of the planet Pluto. She didn't remember what they had been watching when she fell asleep. Reyna spoke, “What's going on?”

"Hazel is upset that Pluto is no longer a planet," Annabeth responded. "The only reason is because it   
cannot clear it's field of gravity."

"It's so stupid. You don't just change something as big as that," Hazel said with a third huff.

"You wouldn't be so mad if the planet wasn't named Pluto," Hylla interrupted. Reyna looked up at her sister and tried to sit up. Hylla wrapped her arm around Reyna's shoulders and pulled her back down.

"If the planet was named Bellona, would you be mad that it is no longer considered a planet?" Hazel asked.

"That would never happen," Annabeth said. "Bellona would make sure the planet threw a meteorite at Earth so perfectly that it squashed the scientist before they could propose it."

"Are you suggesting my mother is violent?" Hylla asked.

"She is a goddess of war," Annabeth answered with a shrug.

"She's better than Athena," Hylla countered. Annabeth gave her a look. The queen of the Amazons smirked.

"Where did the boys go?" Reyna asked interrupting the two. The last thing her headache needed was an argument on which war goddess was better. The better goddess was Bellona of course; however, Reyna could not talk badly about the goddess who had gifted her an indestuctible cloak.

"We kicked them out," Piper joked. She smiled and closed the laptop. "We mentioned a sleepover and the boys quickly found an excuse to leave."

“They all said that they wish you a quick recovery," Hazel said smiling. Reyna nodded and tried to sit up. Her sister finally allowed her to. Hylla stood and reached a hand into her pocket. She walked away.

"What time is it?" Reyna asked tiredly. She rubbed her eyes. Everything still ached, especially her knee.

"Midnight," Piper answered. Reyna nodded and felt her dogs stand from their laying position. She felt Aurum nudge her hand. Reyna scratched the dog under his chin. Argentum moved to her other side.

"Thank you for the party," Reyna said. She rested back against the couch and looked at her friends. After almost dying, her day had gotten much better.

"Anytime, Reyna," Annabeth replied. Reyna stretched out on the couch, but a frown came to her face as she saw dried blood on Piper's arm.

“What happened?” Reyna asked. The girls looked at her confused. Reyna motioned to the blood. The others looked at it and exchanged looks. None of them said a word. “Did somebody get hurt?”

"Frank and I were throwing away the trash. We were outside when everything suddenly became blurry. My head started pounding like I had a really bad headache. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was attacking Frank with a glass bottle," Piper explained. "Frank caught the glass in his hand and it shattered. I tried to attack him but he pinned me. Jason and Percy came outside and broke us up. Jason dragged me back in her until I calmed down.”

"You don't know why you attacked him?" Reyna asked. Piper shook her head and wrung her hands together. Her eyes stared at the ground. Reyna rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Isn't your mother arguing with Mars? Could that have something to do with it?"

"That is what I thought," Annabeth interjected. "I'm sure it will blow over though. Chiron is going to keep the cabins separate until things calm down."

"The two need to stop arguing," Hylla added as she walked back in. "It is disrupting the Amazons and some of the Hunters of Artemis."

"A child of Venus is in the hunters?" Reyna asked with a smirk. It was funny to think that a daughter of a love goddess had joined a group that swore off love.

"One," Hylla answered. "Thalia and I have had a close partnership ever since the incident with Orion. We have taken a few precautions and managed to find a way to get more recruits and training."

"How?" Annabeth asked. Hylla didn't answer. She looked away with a cloudy look in her eyes. The queen of the Amazons shook her head and looked at the others. A smirk came to her face, and she just shrugged.

While Reyna didn't like the secrecy, she understood it. The Hunters of Artemis and the Amazon had taken heavy losses from the battle with Orion. Hylla especially wouldn't want anyone to know the extent of the losses that her group had taken.

"We were judging your closet earlier," Piper said, apparently trying to change the subject. Reyna looked at her and frowned. Piper smirked. "How many togas do you have?"

"Ten. Which is a perfectly reasonable amount," Reyna replied. She slowly tried to stand. Hylla pulled her back down. 

"We have a list of ground rules for you," Annabeth said. She crossed her arms. Hazel did as well. Reyna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and winced in pain as her stitches moved.

“One, stop moving parts of your body that has stitches in them, especially your eyebrow,” Annabeth began. Reyna crossed her arms. “Two, you're not allowed to walk anywhere.”

"How am I suppose to get the things that I need?" Reyna interrupted. She was annoyed, but at the same time, it was sweet. Her friends cared enough about her to give her a list of ground rules. It would get annoying soon though.

"Piper and I will be staying with you until you are back on your feet. I have all these capture the flag plans to go over with you. Jason has control of the flag and I thought you would want to fix that," Annabeth answered.

"Any other rules?" Reyna asked, resigning herself to her fate. She scratched under Aurum's chin. Her dogs nudged her good leg. She smiled at them and looked back up.

"I told you she likes dogs better than people," Hazel said. Reyna grunted and adjusted herself on the couch. She looked at her knee and was pleased to find that it did not look as swollen as before.

“We'll make up more rules later. For now, you need to relax,” Hylla said. She gave her sister a look that said there would be no arguing on that point. Reyna dramatically rolled her eyes. “This was also on your bed.”

Hylla tossed an envelope to Reyna. The praetor caught the envelope and instantly felt the power running through it. A small frown came to her face. She quietly opened it and pulled a card out. The card was gray on the outside and had no words on it. Not a typical greeting card.

As Reyna started to open the card, the light caught onto it. For half of a second, she saw the image of an owl. Reyna froze and found it hard to swallow. She slowly opened the card and stared down at it. Hylla leaned on her and seemed to get a look at the card. 

“It's just symbols,” Hylla commented. She crossed her arms. Reyna stared down at the so called symbols, but she watched as it slowly formed words.

"It must be a prank," Reyna said with a shrug. She glanced at the card one last time before she put it away. "Annabeth, can you help me to my room?"

Annabeth nodded and walked towards her. She helped Reyna stand. Reyna hobbled to her room as she leaned heavily on Annabeth. When they made it into the bedroom, Reyna slowly closed the door.

"Your mother was kind enough to send me a card," Reyna muttered. Annabeth glanced at her. Reyna took a deep breath and stopped walking. She opened the card and read it. "You did a decent job Roman.   
That will not be your final test. Something is going to happen."

Reyna handed the card to Annabeth. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. The daughter of Athena examined the card. After a moment, Annabeth spoke, “It's just a bunch of symbols.”

"I'm not going crazy," Reyna promised. “It's not my concussion either. The Mist?”

"That could be it. I think my mother may have done something so only you could see it," Annabeth said. Reyna nodded. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

"I guess it is up to me to save the world again," Reyna muttered. Annabeth placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You won't have to do it alone," Annabeth promised. Reyna smiled slightly. Annabeth gripped her shoulder. "We should head back to the party. You need a break. Whatever is going to happen will happen. There is no need to worry about it."

"I agree. What movie are we going to watch?" Reyna asked. Annabeth helped her back towards the couch.

"We were in the middle of a documentary," Annabeth replied as they walked. Reyna made a face that caused Annabeth to smile. "I was the one who chose it."

"I guessed," Reyna said. She winced as Annabeth helped her sit on the couch. Hylla propped Reyna's injured leg up on her lap. Reyna laid her head back and sighed.

"We made a few bags of popcorn," Hazel said as she looked at them. Reyna nodded and leaned on Hylla. Her older sister put an arm around her. Reyna closed her eyes and started to relax. Despite how badly her birthday have began, it turned out to one of the best, thanks to her friends.


	18. Graviora Manent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the support. The sequel will be up soon.

“Do you think the storms will get any worse?” Hazel asked. The questioned snapped Reyna back to reality, and she slowly nodded. Her eyes had been focused on the mortals that were scurrying down the street, and somewhere along the way, she had completed zoned out. Someone bumped her shoulder, and Reyna slowly looked at her older sister.

“Are Piper and Annabeth going to be here soon?” Hylla asked. Reyna just nodded again and glanced up at the sky. They were sitting outside of a cafe and underneath its small awning, to protect themselves from the rain. Reyna glanced down at her knee and closed her eyes tiredly.

It had been two weeks since the rogue Amazons had ambushed Reyna. Her knee had yet to fully heal. According to the doctor's at Camp Jupiter, her knee would take longer to heal thanks to the mixture of how badly it was hurt, the Manticore's poison, and how much blood she had lost. Those words did nothing to make her feel better.

Reyna had only returned to praetor duties the week before. It was hard enough to keep up the image of a stoic, terrifying praetor when she had a bad limp. There was also the fact that everyone was bothering her about her knee and how much it had healed.

Annabeth was the first one to notice Reyna's aggravation, or she was just the first one to say it out loud. It was her suggestion to go out for a day of fun. Reyna had muttered that they owed her a movie. Honestly, Reyna could not care less about going to a movie. It was nice to just get out and do something, without anyone bothering her.

Reyna glanced up at the sky. The storms were getting worse. It rained almost everyday, with thunder and lightning every other day. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hazel studying her. Hazel finally looked at Hylla and spoke, “How is the rebuilding of the Amazons going?”

“We made a deal that gives us more recruits. They just need training,” Hylla answered. Reyna glanced at her sister, but Hylla wouldn't meet her eyes.

“How many monsters do you think we are going to attract?” Reyna asked. It was the first words that she had said in awhile. Her hand rested on her knee. She wished that she had her familiar armor on. Hylla hadn't allowed her to wear any. All she had was her sword.

“None,” Hylla said, but she had a forced smile on her face.

“That's good. I would hate to be attacked without armor,” Reyna muttered. Hazel looked in between the two of them and looked uncomfortable.

“What movie should we see?” Hazel asked quickly.

“Maybe Reyna can talk for once and answer you,” Hylla muttered. Reyna glared at her sister. They were sitting right next to each other, which meant that their faces were only inches apart. Hylla suddenly shoved Reyna to the ground.

Reyna hit the ground hard and watched fire hit the wall, right where she had been. She stared for a moment and then slowly turned her head. A serpent like beast crawled towards them. It had to be at least ten feet long. Beautiful, black scales lined its body.

“Drakon,” Hylla whispered. Reyna stared into the ruby eyes of the drakon. She found herself frozen in place. Someone grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to a standing position. Reyna's knee jolted, and the pain snapped her back to reality. Reyna was thrown backwards as a ball of acid was thrown at them.

“Don't look into the drakon's eyes!” Hazel called. She moved to the other side. Reyna slowly stood and grabbed her sword. She flipped it into a javelin.

Hylla rushed forward to attack the drakon. She stabbed her knife into its scales. The knife bounced off of the scales, and Hylla visibly winced. She dropped her knife.

The drakon spot a ball of fire at Hazel. Then, it turned and spat a ball of acid at Reyna. As Hylla tried to lunge forward, the drakon slammed its tail into her chest. Hylla slammed into a wall and then collapsed. She didn't move.

Reyna scrambled to her feet and ran towards her sister. She slid into a table, knocking it to the ground. Reyna used the table as a shield between them and the drakon, as it shot fire at them.

Hylla groaned and lifted her head. There was a look of confusion in her eyes. She suddenly grabbed Reyna's arm and spoke, “I'm sorry.”

“For what?” Reyna asked confused. Hylla opened her mouth to respond. There was a look of guilt on her face.

“Reyna!” Hazel called. Reyna cursed and painfully got to her feet.

“Stay here,” Reyna ordered. She jumped over the burning table and ran towards Hazel. The centurion was holding her own against the drakon, but they had to work together to kill it. The drakon spat acid at Hazel and then turned towards Reyna.

Reyna threw her javelin into the eye of the drakon. It howled in pain. Hazel tried to stab it in the back, but her sword bounces off of the scales. Hazel looked at Reyna and spoke, “Weak points?”

“Eyes and belly,” Reyna yelled. The drakon only seemed angered by the javelin in its eye. Hazel nodded and took a step forward. The drakon looked at Hazel and tensed. Without warning, it suddenly changed directions and lunged at Reyna.

Reyna dove to the side and barely avoided being hit. She scrambled to her feet, but her knee burned in pain. Reyna stumbled and turned. The drakon's tail slammed directly into her chest.

A strangled cry of pain escaped Reyna as she hit the ground. Breathing became harder, and she placed a hand to her side. Nothing felt broken, but the blow had definitely bruised her ribs. Someone pulled Reyna to her feet.

“I left you alone for one minute,” Hylla said. She gripped Reyna's shoulder. “We better go put the beast down.”

“Any ideas?” Reyna asked. Hylla gripped her remaining knife and seemed to think about it. Reyna grabbed her dagger from her belt. Hylla ran towards the drakon, and it turned towards her. Hylla jumped over the drakon's head, and as she did, she grabbed Reyna's javelin from the drakon's eye and tore it out.

“Can you do that?” Hazel asked. She stumbled towards Reyna.

“Of course I can,” Reyna said. Hazel looked at her and smirked. Reyna narrowed her eyes and then looked back at her sister. Hylla stabbed the javelin into the throat of the drakon. She then stabbed her knife into it's throat as well and dragged it all the way down. The drakon exploded into monster dust.

Reyna took a few deep breaths and placed a hand to her side. Hylla walked towards her and pointed down. Reyna looked down and saw that blood was staining through the bandage on her knee. Hylla spoke, “You're bleeding.”

“I'm fine,” Reyna muttered. She glanced up at the sky and shivered. All three of them were soaked by the rain, and it was only starting to fall harder.

“I think you deserve the spoils,” Hazel said to Hylla. The queen of the Amazons smirked. Reyna watched them and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. A tingle ran down Reyna's spine, and she slowly turned around.

Another drakon was standing only a few feet away from them. The one that they just killed had to have been a baby. The one in front of them now was the mother, and she did not look too happy. This drakon had golden scales, emerald eyes, and long nails like knives. It had to be at least thirty feet long.

“We can't fight that,” Reyna stated. The pain in her knee and side was completely forgotten.

“Run,” Hylla agreed. The three of them turned and ran. The drakon roared and gave chase.

“We should split up!” Hazel called.

“Duck into the alleyways. Try to find a place it can't go!” Reyna yelled. She cut left and ducked into an alley. A roar told her that the drakon had followed, which was on par with her luck for that day. Reyna stopped running as she realized the alley was a dead end.

Reyna cursed and turned towards the drakon. She gripped her javelin in her hands and studied the beast. The drakon studied her. There was an expression on its face almost like anger mixed with happiness. It knew that Reyna was trapped.

“Having fun?” a voice asked. Reyna glanced up. She saw a cloaked figure watching her. They stood on the roof above her, and after a moment, they seemed to step on something and threw a rope down towards Reyna, so she could climb up the building. “Cover your eyes.”

Reyna watched the figure notch an arrow. She quickly looked away and heard it fire. Reyna heard a loud bang after that and a howl of pain. She glanced at the drakon to see it was shaking its head back and forth.

Reyna turned and grabbed onto the rope. She quickly climbed up it while the girl kept it secured. As Reyna made it towards the roof, the girl helped her onto the roof. The girl spoke, “It won't be blinded for long. We should run.”

“That was coincidental that you were here,” Reyna commented. She studied the girl in front of her. The girl wore a cloak that covered all of her features. Shadows covered her face. Her bow rested in her hands, and she seemed skilled with it.

“Well, I was following you,” the girl said. She jogged towards the edge of the roof. The buildings were close enough together that they could jump to the other side by taking a running start. Reyna stared at her. “If you want answers, you need to follow me.”

“Who are you?” Reyna demanded. She felt the building shake. The girl seemed to give her a look and then took a running start towards the next building. Since she didn't have another choice, Reyna ran after her. She jumped to the other roof and rolled through the impact. Her knee burned in pain, but she chased after the girl.

“I'm Sarah by the way,” the girl called. Reyna made it to her side.

“Any ideas?” Reyna gasped. Her ribs and knee both ached. They both heard a roar. Reyna turned around and saw the drakon land on top of the roof that they had just jumped from.

“Nope,” Sarah answered. Reyna stared at the drakon stalked towards them. Reyna looked behind the. The next building over would be impossible to jump to, but it looked like it was falling apart and condemned.

“Come on,” Reyna said. She grabbed Sarah's arm and ran towards the edge of the building that they were on. When they made it to the edge, Reyna stopped and turned. Sarah scrambled to a stop near her.

“You're crazy,” Sarah said. She grabbed her bow and notched an arrow. Reyna gripped her sword. The drakon stalked towards them. Then, it visibly tensed and lunged towards them.

Reyna dove to the side at the last second. The drakon flew past them and slammed into the condemned building across from them. Reyna watched the building start to collapse in on itself and then start to lean towards them.

“That's going to hit us,” Sarah said, and she nodded to herself.

“Yeah,” Reyna said. She turned to run. Upon hearing a roar, she slowly turned back around. The drakon pulled itself out of the collapsing building and then jumped towards the building that they were standing on. As the drakon landed on the roof, there was a loud crack. Before Reyna could react, the roof collapsed underneath their weight.

* * *

It felt like a long time before Reyna woke. The first thing she felt was rain on her face. Reyna blinked a few times and looked up at the sky. As she started to come fully back into focus, she heard voices speaking.

“I have the praetor here,” Sarah said. She sounded like she was in pain as well.

“I want you to bring here in as soon as you can,” a new voice said. Reyna lifted her head enough to see the edges of an Iris message. Sarah was blocking the image of who she was talking to. The voice sounded feminine though.

“What about the queen? She's around here somewhere,” Sarah said. Reyna' eyes darted around, but she didn't see any sign of her older sister. Reyna's javelin was only a foot away from her. She started to slowly reach her hand out.

“We don't need to worry about her,” the voice replied. “The most important thing is that you deliver the praetor.”

“Consider it done,” Sarah said. She waved a hand through the Iris message and turned towards Reyna. After grabbing her javelin, Reyna kicked Sarah's feet out from under her and pinned her. She pressed her javelin against Sarah's throat.

“Who are you?” Reyna demanded. Shadows were covering Sarah's face, and Reyna was tempted to pull her hood off.

“I told you that my name was Sarah. We are friends,” Sarah said. Reyna glared.

“Who were you talking to?” Reyna asked. She had Sarah pinned to the ground, and it didn't seem like the girl was strong enough to push her away.

“Look. I get it. You're all paranoid about me,” Sarah began. “I am a friend. I just need you to come with me.”

“I have a better idea,” Reyna said. She grabbed Sarah by her cloak and pulled her to her feet. “Since we're friends, you won't mind coming back to Camp Jupiter with me and answering all of my questions.”

“I would be a little more comfortable back at my place,” Sarah began. Reyna gripped her javelin, but she heard a loud growl. The ground around them seemed to shake, and Reyna turned her head. She stared as the drakon rose out of the rubble.

Reyna bit back a curse. This drakon refused to die, and she was running out of options. Reyna had already dropped a building on it. What more could she do? Reyna shoved Sarah away and studied the drakon.

A gold blur suddenly slammed into the drakon. A second did as well, and Reyna stared as she saw two golden maned lions. They were larger than the drakon, and the beast seemed scared of them. The drakon suddenly turned, and the lions chased after it.

Reyna saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed onto the back of Sarah's cloak and pulled the girl backwards. Reyna turned Sarah around and grabbed her by the throat.

“We aren't done yet,” Reyna snarled in such a way that Lupa would have been proud. Sarah struggled to get away.

“Praetor,” a woman said. Reyna tensed and saw a woman walking towards them. This woman had black hair was silver tips, and kind, green eyes. While she was dressed in full battle armor, she looked nonthreatening.

“Who are you?” Reyna asked. She backed up and ignored Sarah's useless struggles.

“Let the girl go,” the woman ordered. Power radiated off of her, and for a small second, her eyes glinted gold. Reyna reluctantly let go of Sarah.

“Rhea?” Sarah whispered. She took a few steps backwards and seemed to be in shock. Rhea looked at her.

“Leave,” Rhea ordered. Reyna frowned. She had been trying to remember all of the Greek names for the immortals, but she couldn't quite remember who Rhea was.

“Of course, my lady,” Sarah said. She bowed and then ran away as fast as she could. Sarah seemed to disappear into the wind.

“Rhea,” Reyna repeated. After a moment, she knelt to the immortal in front of her. Then, she stood and gripped her javelin. “Who are you?”

“You already know my name, but you do not know me. You call me Ops,” Rhea said. Everything clicked for Reyna, and she took a step backwards “Peace. I mean you no harm, praetor. You are the one, after all.”

“The one?” Reyna slowly asked. She stared at the Titaness in front of her. Ops was the wife of Saturn, and Saturn had a war with the Greeks. What did his wife want? What did she mean by the one?

“Come,” Rhea said. She whistled and turn. Her two lions followed behind Rhea, but they stopped right behind Reyna. Upon realizing that she really didn't have a choice, Reyna followed.

“Are my friends safe,” Reyna slowly asked. She flipped her javelin into a sword and sheathed it.

“Yes. They are fine. They met up with the daughter of Aphrodite and Athena,” Rhea responded. She continued to keep walking. “As you may know, something big is coming. It is bigger than the Olympians want to believe.”

“What am I going to do about it?” Reyna slowly asked.

“Stop it. Of course,” Rhea replied. She stopped walking and studied Reyna. The Titaness nodded, as if she was satisfied. “The girl you met, Sarah, will lead you to powerful allies or powerful enemies. The result depends on you.”

“No pressure,” Reyna muttered softly. Rhea smiled slightly.

“They wouldn't choose you if you were not ready,” Rhea replied. There was a sad look in her eyes.

“They?” Reyna asked. Instead of answering, Rhea snapped her fingers, and one of the lions walked past Reyna. Rhea grabbed a necklace from around the lion's neck and held it out.

After a few moments, Reyna took the necklace. It was a leather cord necklace, and a black vial hung from it. The vial was the size of a flash drive. Reyna lifted it to the light and could see a black liquid inside.

“It won't break,” Rhea promised. “Do not lose that vial. It is the most important thing that you will ever hold.”

“I'll keep it safe,” Reyna said softly. She looked up at Rhea.

“Your path will be hard,” Rhea warned. “I believe that you can and will survive. Now, you should get back to your friends. Close your eyes.”

Reyna wasn't quite sure what to think of the Titaness, but she did what she was told. A hand touched her forehead. Reyna gripped the necklace. Everything spun for a few moments, and sound was disoriented. The hand disappeared from her forehead, and everything came back into focus.

Reyna's eyes snapped open, and she looked around the alley that she was in. She sighed and put her necklace on. The vial felt cool, even through her shirt. Reyna had no clue where she was, which sounded about right.

“A building was destroyed not far from here. I'm guessing that is where my sister is,” Hylla said. Reyna looked up. The voice wasn't far from where she was.

“We should go there then,” Annabeth said. It sounded like she was out of breath. Reyna walked towards the edge of the alley and took a deep breath. She stepped out and looked around. Her four companions were standing around in a circle.

Hylla and Hazel looked exhausted but otherwise unharmed. Piper and Annabeth had cuts on their faces and were still trying to catch their breath. Hylla was the first one to notice Reyna. She rushed towards Reyna and hugged her tightly.

“Ribs,” Reyna gasped as her chest ached in protest. Hylla loosened her grip. “I'm fine.”

“You're not fine if your ribs are hurt,” Hylla snapped. She pulled away. “Don't do that again.”

“I'm fine,” Reyna insisted. She glanced at Annabeth and Piper. “What happened to the two of you?”

“We were attacked by three drakons,” Piper answered. She made it sound like a walk in the park. “We're fine though.”

“Hylla and I are fine,” Hazel said. “Did you manage to kill the mother?”

“No,” Reyna answered. “While I was running, I ran into some girl named Sarah. We ran from the beast together and dropped a building on it. When I woke, it was gone.”

“A girl named Sarah?” Hylla asked. Her eyes grew distant for a moment, and Reyna wanted to question her. “It's probably nothing.”

Reyna frowned. Before she could question her sister, Hazel spoke, “What's that on your neck?”

Reyna slowly looked down at her necklace. No excuse came to mind. Annabeth studied the necklace and spoke, “It' looks like a spoil from the fight. It's possible the girl killed the drakon and fled.”

“I found this on the ground,” Reyna said quickly. “It could have belonged to the girl as well. I'm going to bring it to Camp Jupiter to be examined.”

Hylla watched her but obviously didn't believe her. Reyna felt like she wasn't the only one hiding things though. She kept her face neutral. Reyna spoke, “We should just enjoy the rest of the day while we can.”

Reyna forced a smile to come to her face. She turned away from her friends and frowned. Rhea had told her that something big was going to happen, but she didn't know what it was. When it did happen, Reyna got the feeling that she wouldn't have any rest for a long time.


End file.
